LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Members: Second Homes

Frank Field: To ask the Leader of the House how many hon. Members claim for a second home  (a) in London and  (b) in their constituency.

Helen Goodman: Hon. Members are entitled to claim the additional costs allowance when staying away from their main home on parliamentary business. The allowance may be used for help with the cost of purchase or rental of a property, or for hotel or other overnight costs. In 2006-07 441 Members claimed the allowance for staying in London and 148 in their constituency.

OLYMPICS

Departmental Information Officers

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Minister for the Olympics how many  (a) press and  (b) communications officers were employed to promote (i) the bid for and (ii) the hosting of the 2012 Summer Olympics in each year for which figures are available.

Tessa Jowell: There were no press officers employed in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport solely to work on the Olympic bid. Subsequent to London winning the bid, the Department has employed the following numbers of press officers to work on the Olympics:
	
		
			   Press officers 
			 2005-06 2 
			 2006-07 3 
			 2007-08 3 
		
	
	The Department does not have a "communication officer" grade. The "White Book" of contacts in Government Departments and agencies contains listings for the Department and the book is updated twice yearly.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Criminal Justice and Policing

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made on devolution of criminal justice and policing to Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave earlier to the hon. Member for Vale of York (Miss McIntosh).

Fuel Smuggling

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent assessment he has made of the level of fuel smuggling in Northern Ireland.

Paul Goggins: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave earlier to the hon. Member for Clwyd, West (Mr. Jones).

Policing Budget

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the policing budget for Northern Ireland is in 2007-08; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: The allocation made to the Northern Ireland Policing Board in respect of policing in 2007-08 amounts to £1,231 million.

Security Situation

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent assessment he has made of the security situation in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: The security situation in Northern Ireland has been dramatically transformed, not least because of the historic agreement reached exactly one year ago today by the right hon. Member for North Antrim (Rev. Ian Paisley) and the hon. Member for Belfast, West (Mr. Adams).

Abortion

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he plans to introduce new legislation on abortion in Northern Ireland.

Paul Goggins: The Government have no plans to amend the law on abortion in Northern Ireland.

Departmental Official Visits

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the cost was of overnight accommodation for  (a) civil servants,  (b) special advisers and  (c) Ministers in his Department staying overnight in (i) mainland Great Britain, (ii) Northern Ireland, (iii) the Republic of Ireland and (iv) other countries in the last 12 months.

Shaun Woodward: The Northern Ireland Office does not record the costs of overnight accommodation in the format requested. This information can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Driving Offences: Sentencing

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many  (a) arrests and  (b) convictions for drink-driving offences resulted in a custodial sentence in each of the last 10 years, broken down by (i) specific offence, (ii) age and (iii) sex.

Paul Goggins: Table 1 sets out the number of arrests for drink driving offences from 1998 to 2007. Breakdown by gender is available from 2002-07. However, the only information recorded on age is the average age of those arrested.
	Table 2 sets out the number of convictions for drink driving offences which have resulted in a custodial sentence in each of the last 10 years, 2006 being the latest available.
	Table 3 sets out the number of convictions for drink driving offences resulting in a custodial sentence categorised by age in each of the last 10 years, 2006 being the latest available.
	Table 4 sets out the number of convictions for drink driving offences resulting in a custodial sentence categorised by gender in each of the last 10 years, 2006 being the latest available.
	
		
			  Table 1: Breakdown of number of arrests 2002-07 
			   Male  Female  Average age 
			 2007 3,866 478 33 
			 2006 4,145 512 33 
			 2005 3,992 443 34 
			 2004 3,489 388 34 
			 2003 3,142 349 33 
			 2002 2,145 283 32 
		
	
	
		
			  Total number of arrests 1998 to  2001 
			   Number 
			 2001 4,271 
			 2000 5,284 
			 1999 5,025 
			 1998 4,711 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2 
			  Offence  2006  2005  2004  2003  2002  2001  2000  1999  1998  1997 
			 In charge of vehicle while under the influence of alcohol/drugs 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Failing to provide specimen of blood/urine—major accident 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Driving with excess alcohol 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 0 
			 In charge with excess alcohol 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 
			 Driving with excess alcohol—blood/urine 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 
			 In charge with excess alcohol—blood/urine 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Failing to provide specimen of breath—driving 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Failing to provide specimen of breath—attempting to drive 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Failing to provide specimen of blood/urine—minor accident 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Driving when unfit through drink or drugs 5 5 3 8 4 2 5 12 15 8 
			 Attempting to drive when unfit through drink or drugs 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 In charge when unfit through drink or drugs 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 
			 Driving with excess alcohol in breath 9 14 5 11 3 11 4 5 4 14 
			 Attempting to drive with excess alcohol in breath 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 In charge with excess alcohol in breath 0 2 0 0 0 1 2 1 0 0 
			 Driving with excess alcohol in blood 0 0 4 3 2 5 2 3 1 3 
			 Attempting to drive with excess alcohol in blood 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 In charge with excess alcohol in blood 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Driving with excess alcohol in urine 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 In charge with excess alcohol in urine 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Failing to provide specimen of breath for preliminary test 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 
			 Failing to provide specimen of breath for analysis 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 
			 Failing to provide specimen of blood or urine for analysis 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 
			 Failing to provide specimen when driving unfit 0 1 2 3 2 0 0 3 2 0 
			 Failing to provide specimen when attempting to drive unfit 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Failing to provide specimen when in charge unfit 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 
			 Failing to provide specimen when driving with excess alcohol 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Failing to provide specimen when attempting to drive unfit 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Failing to provide specimen when in charge with excess alcohol 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Causing death by driving carelessly when unfit 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 
			 Causing GBI by driving carelessly when unfit 3 1 2 1 1 1 3 1 0 0 
			 Causing death or GBI by driving carelessly- excess alcohol 1 0 0 1 0 1 2 1 0 0 
			 Causing death by inconsiderate driving with excess alcohol 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Causing GBI by driving carelessly with excess alcohol 3 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Causing death—driving carelessly, failing to provide specimen 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Causing GBI—driving carelessly, failing to provide specimen 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Total 24 28 19 31 14 23 21 36 28 27 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3 
			  Age (years)  2006  2005  2004  2003  2002  2001  2000  1999  1998  1997 
			 0 to 17 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 18 to 24 3 10 2 9 7 7 3 12 12 12 
			 25 to 39 16 6 9 11 4 11 15 15 9 14 
			 40 to 59 3 12 8 11 3 5 3 6 6 1 
			 60 + 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Not recorded 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 
			 Total 24 28 19 31 14 23 21 36 28 27 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 4 
			  Sex  2006  2005  2004  2003  2002  2001  2000  1990  1998  1997 
			 Male 23 28 19 30 14 21 21 35 28 27 
			 Female 1 0 0 1 0 2 0 1 0 0 
			 Total 24 28 19 31 14 23 21 36 28 27 
		
	
	PSNI data on numbers of arrests are not directly comparable with statistics on convictions, as the offence recorded initially may differ from that which is used in court.

Ministerial Policy Advisers

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  when Mr. Phil Taylor formally ended his employment as a special adviser to the Northern Ireland Office;
	(2)  what the employment status was of special adviser to the Northern Ireland Office, Mr. Phil Taylor while working on a Labour Party deputy leadership campaign; and if he will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: Mr. Phil Taylor ceased to be employed by the Northern Ireland Office on 28 June 2007.
	Special advisers working in the Northern Ireland Office were aware of the Special Adviser Code of Conduct and the additional guidance issued by the Cabinet Secretary in December 2006.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Fairtrade Initiative

John Battle: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission if the Commission will provide for the stocking of Fairtrade bananas in House cafeterias.

Nick Harvey: The House of Commons Catering and Retail service stocks Fairtrade bananas from time to time and in particular during Fairtrade fortnight, which ran from 25 February to 7 March 2007.
	Despite extensive research of the market, however, it has proven exceptionally difficult to source a supplier able to supply Fairtrade bananas in the relatively small quantities required by the Catering and Retail service. Most Fairtrade bananas are purchased at source by the major supermarkets and those that are available on the wholesale fruit market in London generally have a minimum order level of one pallet (540 kg) per delivery, which is far more than we can reasonably use or store.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Africa: International Assistance

Tom Levitt: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the potential role of international companies in promoting development in Africa; and what steps he is taking to promote and co-ordinate such involvement.

Gareth Thomas: International companies have a key role in contributing towards development and economic growth in Africa through investment, job creation and their contribution to Government revenues by paying taxes.
	The UK Government work with developing country governments and international agencies to create an environment that supports the growth of business by supporting reforms that allow markets to work with greater efficiency and fairness. The UK Government also promote adherence to the OECD Guidelines on Multinational Enterprises which set out the standards on issues such as employment and industrial relations, the environment and corruption that OECD governments expect business to adhere to when they invest overseas.
	Companies can also use their core business to deliver better development outcomes. The Department for International Development (DFID) is working with companies that have signed up to the Prime Minister's Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Call to Action to develop concrete initiatives which apply core business, skills, and expertise to enhance growth and wealth creation to help meet the MDGs.

Developing Countries: Water

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department has taken to reduce conflict over water in developing countries.

Gareth Thomas: The Department for International Development (DFID) recognises the importance of promoting co-operation over water resources to reduce the risk of conflict. DFID provides support to programmes in Africa, the Middle East and South Asia that reduce conflict over water resources. DFID is also increasing funding to support countries to manage the effects of climate change, which will improve the management of water and reduce the risks of conflict as resources become more scarce.
	In the Middle East, DFID provides support to the EXACT programme (part of the multilateral track of the Peace process), to improve regional management of groundwater pollution. In Sudan, DFID is providing £1 million for the development of an integrated water resources management plan to improve co-operation over scarce water resources and help build sustainable livelihoods. We have provided £14 million to the Nile Basin Initiative that supports co-operation among the countries that share the waters of the Nile. DFID has also recently agreed to provide initial funding to the South Asia Water Initiative to promote co-operation over water in one of the world's most volatile regions. We continue to consider other requests for support to improve the management of water to help reduce conflict at regional levels and in countries.

EU Aid: Food

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions  (a) he,  (b) his officials and  (c) UK representatives in Brussels have had with (i) members and (ii) representatives of the EU Commission on the additional €160 million funding announced to supplement EU food aid; what assessment his Department has made of the planned distribution of these additional funds; whether his Department was consulted in the process of reaching this decision; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: The European Commission's €160 million operational plan for food aid to meet the food needs of approximately 18,675,000 people was discussed with member states at the Humanitarian Aid Committee (MAC) on 13-14 December in Brussels. DFID received the papers about the decision but was not represented at this meeting.
	Following the Humanitarian Aid Committee in December the operational plan for food aid was adopted by the European Parliament on 19 February.
	These funds form part of the €223 million food aid budget under the European Commission's Humanitarian Regulation. They take account of expected increases in humanitarian demand due to climatic shock, the decreasing availability of food, the impact of recent food price rises and the reducing incomes of the most vulnerable groups.
	DFID subsequently reviewed the operational plan and is confident that the allocation is appropriate and will be spent where there is genuine need.

EU Aid: Food

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions  (a) he,  (b) his officials and  (c) UK representatives in Washington DC have had with (i) members and (ii) representatives of the US Administration on the possible matching of the increase in EU food aid by the US; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: Our UK representatives in Washington understand that there is no move to increase budgets or overhaul the structure of US food aid.
	There are also no current plans to increase EU food aid. I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him today (UIN 192972).

Global Plan to Stop TB

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department has allocated to the Global Plan to Stop TB 2006-15 since the programme was launched; what progress has been made towards the targets in the Plan to Stop TB; and how much of the funding required to implement the Global Plan has been  (a) identified and  (b) spent.

Gillian Merron: holding answer  17 March 2008
	The Global Plan to Stop Tuberculosis (TB) lays out the actions and resources needed to achieve its target to halve TB prevalence and deaths by 2015. It does not receive funding directly but acts as an umbrella organisation for those involved in TB control.
	The World Heath Organisation estimates that globally the number of new cases of TB is falling slowly (less than 1 per cent. a year) and the reported treatment success rate is now 85 per cent.
	When launched in 2006, the Global Plan to Stop Tuberculosis (TB) set the overall plan cost at US $56 billion, the estimated funding gap being US $ 31 billion. For its first three years, the Global Plan identified the need for about US $12 billion of which countries have reported US $7.6 billion in available resources.

Global Schools Partnership

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 11 March 2008,  Official Report, column 284W, on Global Schools Partnership, how many of the participating schools in Wales were from each local authority in Wales.

Shahid Malik: The breakdown, by local authority, of Welsh schools participating in the DFID Global School Partnerships (DGSP) programme in the period 1 April 2005 to 29 February 2008 is as follows:
	
		
			  Local authority  Eligible DGSPs 
			 Blaenau Gwent 3 
			 Bridgend 2 
			 Caerphilly 6 
			 Cardiff 8 
			 Carmarthenshire 9 
			 Ceredigion 7 
			 Conwy 3 
			 Denbighshire 13 
			 Flintshire 2 
			 Gwynedd 6 
			 Isle of Anglesey 9 
			 Merthyr Tydfil 4 
			 Newport 2 
			 Pembrokeshire 5 
			 Rhondda, Cynon, Taff 8 
			 Swansea 3 
			 The Vale of Glamorgan 2 
			 Wrexham 10 
			 Grand total 102

Ipsos MORI

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what payments his Department has made to Ipsos MORI in the last 24 months; and for what purposes.

Shahid Malik: The Department for International Development (DFID) has not made any payments to Ipsos MORI during the past 24 months. DFID has recently contracted Ipsos-MORI through the Central Office of Information to research issues around the attitude of the UK public to international poverty.

Overseas Aid

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps are being taken to ensure that aid given by his Department is spent on the purposes for which it was intended.

Shahid Malik: The Department for International Development (DFID) always checks three points for each aid programme:
	That the funds were paid to the intended recipient;
	That the funds have been used for the purposes agreed; and
	That the use of the funds has been audited.
	DFID checks on the use of funds by requiring recipients to provide audited financial statements and by conducting annual monitoring reviews.
	DFID's programme management is supported by regular audits by DFID's internal audit department and the National Audit Office, both providing further evidence of the correct use of aid funds.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Commonwealth Scholarship Commission

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the Written Ministerial Statement of 13 March 2008,  Official Report, columns 22-4WS, on FCO scholarships and fellowships, what assessment he has made of the rigour and transparency of selection methods for the  (a) Commonwealth and  (b) Chevening Scholarship schemes.

Jim Murphy: The selection process for Commonwealth scholars is both rigorous and transparent. The changes we are making to the Chevening scholarship scheme, set out in my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary's written ministerial statement of 13 March 2008,  Official Report, columns 22-24WS, will improve the consistency of the selection of Chevening scholars.

Departmental Contracts

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the  (a) objective and  (b) value was of each contract placed with (i) Deloitte & Touche, (ii) Ernst & Young, (iii) KPMG, (iv) PricewaterhouseCoopers and (v) PA Consulting by his Department and its agencies in each year since 2004-05.

Meg Munn: The information requested by my hon. Friend is as follows:
	
		
			  Company/Objective   Value of contract (£) 
			  For the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)   
			  Deloitte and Touche   
			 Advice in relation to Private Finance Initiative options for various projects 2004-05 11,300 
			
			  Ernst and Young   
			 None — — 
			  KPMG   
			 IT Strategy Development, Shared Services Banking consultancy, Efficiency Health Check 2006-07 154,429 
			  2007-08 118,518 
			
			  PricewaterhouseCoopers   
			 Provision of Accounting and Auditing services to FCO Resource Accounts and Internal Audit Departments 2004-05 5,000 
			  2005-06 499,377 
			  2006-07 112,300 
			  2007-08 300,000 
			
			  PA Consulting   
			 UK Visas Biometric consultancy, Shared Services consultancy, Commercial Partnerships Consultancy and Change Management Support 2004-05 590,579 
			  2005-06 5,125,928 
			  2006-07 15,737,004 
			  2007-08 11,763,173 
			
			  FCO Services (an Executive Agency of the FCO)   
			  Deloitte and Touche   
			 None — — 
			
			  Ernst and Young   
			 None — — 
			
			  KPMG   
			 Accountancy services in respect of a Value Added Tax Review (VAT) 2007-08 128,912 
			
			  PricewaterhouseCoopers   
			 None   
			
			  PA Consulting   
			 General Management Consultancy Services including those related to the Future Vision and Strategy/Trading Fund Programme 2004-05 193,456 
			  2005-06 47,400 
			  2006-07 36,008 
			  2007-08 3,840,879 
		
	
	The figures in the table represent FCO and FCO Services commitments (i.e. excluding VAT) to these companies during this period and not the actual expenditure against these commitments some of which may be made in subsequent periods. These figures are based on reports produced by Prism, the FCO's financial and management information system. The amounts actually paid against these commitments may differ where VAT is applied. The contracts/services detailed reflect the key services/contracts which these commitments have covered.
	These figures also only cover commitments/contracts made in the UK and exclude those made by our missions overseas, which due to currency/exchange rate issues we are not readily able to include here.

Departmental Publications

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he will publish the full strategic framework document Better World, Better Britain following his letter to right hon. and hon. Members of 29 February 2008 enclosing a leaflet setting out in brief the new strategy.

Meg Munn: holding answer 25 March 2008
	 The key points of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) new strategic framework were set out in my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary's written ministerial statement of 23 January 2008,  Official Report, columns 52-53WS. Additionally, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary wrote to all hon. Members and peers, enclosing a leaflet titled: "Better World, Better Britain", with further information about the strategic framework. Further details will be available on the FCO website (www.fco.gov.uk) from 28 March 2008 and in the forthcoming FCO departmental report.

Departmental Scholarships

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 13 March 2008,  Official Report, column 23WS, on FCO scholarships and fellowships, if he will publish the review.

Jim Murphy: I will arrange for a copy of our 2006 review of the Chevening scholarship scheme to be placed in the Library of the House.

Detainees

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 18 December 2007,  Official Report, column 1356W, on detainees, what subsequent assessment he has made of the  (a) adequacy of domestic legislation and international legal instruments and  (b) future discussions of the Secretary General's proposals by the Committee of Ministers following the Oral Statement on terrorist suspects (renditions) of 21 February 2008,  Official Report, columns 547-59.

Kim Howells: Officials continue to work through the details and implications of the new information received from the US on renditions through Diego Garcia. Once this work is completed we will look again at the proposals of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Extraordinary Rendition.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office will continue to take account of any discussions of rendition in the Council of Europe's, Committee of Ministers and will keep UK procedures under review to ensure that they meet the standards we have set and comply with UK domestic law and our international obligations.

Kenya: Politics and Government

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the power sharing agreement in Kenya.

Meg Munn: holding answer 25 March 2008
	We welcome the power-sharing agreement signed by President Kibaki and the Leader of the Opposition, Raila Odinga, on 28 February 2008. We join the international community in thanking Kofi Annan and his team for their outstanding efforts in brokering this deal.
	But the hard work must continue. Real leadership, patience and tolerance is necessary to ensure that the agreement sticks and is implemented in full. We welcome signs that this is happening, including the constitutional reforms passed on 18 March 2008 involving creating the office of Prime Minister.

Middle East: Broadcasting

Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the effects of transmissions by al-Jazeera and al-Arabiyya on public perception of the UK in the Middle East.

Kim Howells: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office employs two Arabic spokespeople: one in London and one in Dubai, both appear regularly on Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiyya to put forward the UK's position. They monitor and report regularly on how UK issues are covered in the Arab media.

Pakistan: Politics and Government

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will place in the Library a copy of the recent report funded by the British High Commission into public attitudes within the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The recently published report "Understanding FATA" examines attitudes towards governance, security, religion and the wider society within the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). It was produced by Community Appraisal and Motivation Programme, a Pakistani non-governmental organisation, and funded by the cross-departmental conflict prevention pool. It is based on independent polling and research and forms an important contribution to our developing understanding of the FATA—particularly through acknowledging and examining the opinions of the tribal people themselves. A copy will be placed in the Library of the House.

PricewaterhouseCoopers

David Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department paid to PricewaterhouseCoopers in each financial year since 2000.

Meg Munn: The amounts paid to PricewaterhouseCoopers in each year were:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2000-01 202,364.53 
			 2001-02 9,350.52 
			 2002-03 0 
			 2003-04 221,801.00 
			 2004-05 5,875.00 
			 2005-06 254,798.76 
			 2006-07 384,196.97 
			 2007-08 (1)297,026.02 
			 (1) To December 2007. 
		
	
	These figures are based on reports produced by Prism, the FCO's financial and management information system. The above include value added tax (VAT), some of which was recoverable VAT. The figures represent Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and FCO Services payments made during this period. Payments may be made in periods following those in which contractual amounts were previously committed.
	The aforementioned figures given only cover commitments/contracts made in the UK and exclude those made by our missions overseas which, due to currency/exchange rate issues, were not readily available to include here.

Russia: TNK-BP

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the police search of TNK-BP and BP-Trading Limited in Russia in March 2008.

Jim Murphy: We are aware that on 19 and 20 March, the Russian authorities conducted searches at the Moscow offices of both TNK-BP and BP. Files and computer servers were seized, and company employees were questioned. None of them were UK nationals. We are in touch with the companies and continue to monitor the situation closely. Clearly, we expect any investigations by the Russian authorities to be conducted in full transparency and in accordance with Russian law.

Sudan: Politics and Government

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will encourage the representation of Arab militias in peace talks in Darfur.

Meg Munn: holding answer 25 March 2008
	 We have made clear to the UN and African Union (AU) envoys, most recently at the international meeting they hosted in Geneva on 18 March, that we believe civil society and Arab engagement in the political process are essential for an inclusive process and a sustainable settlement.
	The UK has filled five key posts in the Darfur-Darfur Dialogue and Consultation, which will be the main mechanism for civil society engagement in the political process and in longer-term reconciliation and rehabilitation in Darfur. We have also committed £1 million to support the AU and UN Joint Mediation Support Team, which is currently focused on encouraging rebel movements to unify further and agree on common platforms ahead of negotiations with the Government of Sudan.

Tibet: Politics and Government

John MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the humanitarian situation in Tibet; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Munn: holding answer 25 March 2008
	We do not have access to all the information needed to make an accurate assessment of the humanitarian situation in Tibet. However, we remain seriously concerned about the recent events in Tibet and the surrounding region and continue to closely monitor the situation. We have asked the Chinese authorities for permission for an official, from our embassy in Beijing, to visit Tibet. We have expressed our concern to Chinese authorities both in Beijing and London and have urged them to respect fully the human rights of those detained; to avoid use of excessive force in dealing with riots; and to respect freedom of expression and religion in Tibet.

Tibet: Politics and Government

John MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the political situation in Tibet; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Munn: holding answer 25 March 2008
	 We remain very concerned about the situation in Tibet and surrounding areas, including reports of loss of life, use of force and damage to property. We understand an uneasy calm has returned to the streets of Lhasa. We continue to urge the Chinese to respect fully the human rights of those detained; to exercise maximum restraint in restoring public order; and to respect freedom of expression and religion in Tibet. We also call on the protesters, in Lhasa and elsewhere, to desist from further violence. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister spoke to Chinese Premier Wen on 19 March urging the Chinese Government to address the underlying issues by re-engaging in dialogue without preconditions with the Dalai Lama and his representatives. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary also emphasised the need for dialogue when he spoke to Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi on 21 March.

SCOTLAND

Departmental Advertising

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland which of his Department's initiatives have been advertised to the public in each of the last 10 years; and what the cost of each such campaign was.

David Cairns: The Scotland Office was established on 1 July 1999; the Office spent the following on advertising:
	
		
			   £ 
			 1999-2000 26,861 
			 2000-01 270,494 
			 2001-02 186,564 
			 2002-03 10,390 
			 2003-04 0 
			 2004-05 0 
			 2005-06 0 
			 2006-07 17,510 
		
	
	Most of the expenditure in 2000-01 and 2001-02 relates to electoral registration matters. Since 2001, this has been the responsibility of the Electoral Commission.

Departmental Data Protection

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether confidential or personal information has been compromised through the loss of property from his Department since 1997.

David Cairns: The Scotland Office was established on 1 July 1999. Except in exceptional cases, when it is in the public interest, it has been the policy of successive Governments not to comment on breaches of security. However, following the publication of the Data Handling Procedures in Government: Interim Progress Report on 17 December 2007,  Official Report, column 98WS, all Departments will cover information assurance issues in their annual reports.

Departmental Pay

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the hourly rates of pay of all non-permanent staff working for his Department were in each of the last 12 months; and how many staff were receiving each rate in each of those months.

David Cairns: The Scotland Office does not record the information in the form requested.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Crime: Victims

Keith Vaz: To ask the Solicitor-General what arrangements have been put in place to improve the level of service given to victims of crime by the Crown Prosecution Service.

Vera Baird: The Crown Prosecution Service's (CPS) commitments to victims of crime are contained within the Prosecutors' Pledge, which was launched by the Attorney-General in 2005, and the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime, which was introduced in April 2006.
	The CPS has made significant progress in improving victim and witness care in recent years with the introduction of initiatives such as the Direct Communication with Victims scheme, the Victim Focus Scheme and the 'No Witness No Justice' initiative.
	Under the 'No Witness No Justice' initiative, the CPS, working in partnership with the police, has introduced witness care units across England and Wales. From the point of charge until the conclusion of the case, a witness care officer provides a single point of contact for the victim ensuring that information about the case and support is provided to meet the needs of individual victims and witnesses.

Prosecutions

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Solicitor-General how many cases the Crown Prosecution Service has prosecuted in the last three years; in how many instances a conviction was secured; and if she will make a statement.

Vera Baird: The following table shows the number of defendant cases prosecuted in each of the last three years and the number that resulted in a conviction. Convictions are also shown as a proportion of cases completed in each year:
	
		
			   2005  2006  2007 
			 Total prosecutions 1,156,325 1,098,627 1,071,738 
			 Convictions 946,187 914,245 907,709 
			 Convictions as percentage 81.8 83.2 84.7 
		
	
	The volume of cases has fallen as crime levels have reduced and as increasing numbers of lesser offences have been dealt with by way of a fixed penalty notice, rather than court proceedings. Against this background, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has achieved effective increases in conviction rates, from 81.8 per cent. in 2005 to 84.7 per cent. in 2007.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Art Works: Intellectual Property

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what progress has been made in obtaining the indefinite extension of the derogation of artists' resale rights.

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether it is his policy to obtain the indefinite extension of the derogation which limits the artists' resale rights scheme to the work of living artists only; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: I have been asked to reply.
	We are in the process of considering the evidence on the impact of artist's resale right on the UK art market, including the derogation. We will be continuing our discussions with the Commission on this issue.

Arts: Resale Rights Scheme

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will make it his policy that artists should be required to register their names at the beginning of each year on a centrally available database if they wish to exercise their right to receive payment under the artists' resale rights scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: I have been asked to reply.
	An artist's resale rights under article 1 of Directive 2001/84/EC are inalienable and cannot be waived. It would not therefore be consistent with this Directive to make payments of resale rights dependent upon whether the artist has registered with a database.

Departmental Intranet

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the Answer of 19 February 2008,  Official Report, column 1296W, on departmental intranet, what the  (a) creations and  (b) amendments were referred to in the Answer.

Margaret Hodge: The following table shows all changes made by staff in DCMS to pages on Wikipedia.
	
		
			  Page title  Diff( 1)  Comments( 2) 
			 A Brighter Summer Day 138119739 — 
			 Adamski 9535361 corrected spelling of Tinley 
			 American Revolutionary War 69983408 Germany did not exist until 1870 therefore reference to 'Germans' amended 
			 Amersham 18665642 — 
			 Amersham 18665719 — 
			 Arthur C. Clarke Award 8510343 added external links 
			 Arthur C. Clarke Award 81027462 — 
			 Aryan race 70380391 /* Nazism */ 
			 Aryan race 70380431 /* Nazism */ 
			 Baron Phillimore 95701674 — 
			 Baron Phillimore 100873930 /* See also */ 
			 Battersea Park railway station 1846151 — 
			 Beeston, Nottinghamshire 1714319 — 
			 Beeston, Nottinghamshire 1714332 — 
			 Bjorn Lomborg 7796392 /* Miscellaneous trivia */ removed non-neutral characterisation 
			 Boots Group 1714584 — 
			 British Army 6936241 /* Major Actions and Deployments */ int links 
			 British Science Fiction Association 6358875 new page 
			 British Science Fiction Association 6378225 added ext links and extra content 
			 British Science Fiction Association 13711021 new internal link replacing content 
			 Brixton 1564257 — 
			 Brixton 1564315 — 
			 Brixton 1564323 — 
			 Brixton 1588007 — 
			 Brixton Hill 2467268 First entry 
			 Buffy the Vampire Slayer 114771126 corrected first line to past tense "was a" to match past tense later in para 
			 Buffy the Vampire Slayer 114771191 — 
			 Colin Wells 66333259 — 
			 Crash (1973 novel) 6927844 added detail 
			 Crash (1973 novel) 6927894 revised for clarity 
			 Crash (1973 novel) 9440306 fixed int links 
			 Department for Culture, Media and Sport 6575717 add info 
			 Department for Culture, Media and Sport 6825899 added info 
			 Department for Culture, Media and Sport 39568170 — 
			 DJ Shadow 7245168 /* Discography */ added releases 
			 Douglas Hurd 22621605 Ruislip-Northwood link fixed 
			 Ellie Levenson 77184331 — 
			 Flickr 25743854 /* History */ 
			 Greg Rutherford 78884909 — 
			 Hackney 6977423 — 
			 Hard science fiction 6776829 corrected list of authors 
			 Hector Monro, Baron Monro of Langholm 79607877 — 
			 History of South Africa in the apartheid era 66118113 — 
			 HTML 8288090 — 
			 Iain Banks 6773059 /* Miscellany */ correction 
			 J. G. Ballard 6927524 /* Novels and short story collections */ 
			 J. G. Ballard 7060557 created proper bibliography 
			 James College 71813179 — 
			 Jesse Boot, 1(st) Baron Trent 1714567 — 
			 Jesse Boot, 1(st) Baron Trent 1760318 — 
			 Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam 142228236 — 
			 John Boot 1714471 — 
			 Ken MacLeod 7060613 added information on critical studies 
			 List of science fiction authors 6932349 /*R*/ 
			 LSRfm.com 139666304 /* Station Managers */ 
			 LSRfm.com 145186572 /* Station Managers */ 
			 Mahmoud Ahmed 50240163 /* See also */ 
			 Martin Callanan 19373013 /* External link */ 
			 Martin Callanan 19576435 — 
			 Michael Todd 103163022 — 
			 Michael Todd 103163479 — 
			 Michael Todd 103163596 — 
			 Michael Todd 103163712 — 
			 Michael Todd 103164630 — 
			 Michael Todd 103164660 — 
			 Michael Todd 103164690 — 
			 Michael Todd 103165164 — 
			 Michael Todd 103165648 — 
			 North London Lions 106310570 /* History */ 
			 North London Lions 106312118 /* International tour matches */ 
			 North London Lions 106312315 /* History */ 
			 Nottingham Playhouse 15069764 — 
			 Performance art 56299783 — 
			 Performance art 56300035 — 
			 PS Publishing 6932132 added 2001 history 
			 PS Publishing 7273036 /* 2002 */ 
			 Remembrance Day 27354408 — 
			 Remembrance Sunday 33833547 — 
			 Remembrance Sunday 33833618 — 
			 Remembrance Sunday 40874224 — 
			 Remembrance Sunday 45260044 — 
			 Streatham 1585677 — 
			 Streatham 1585792 — 
			 Streatham 1587823 — 
			 Streatham (UK Parliament constituency) 15693607 /* Politics and history of the constituency */ 
			 Streatham Hill railway station 1585938 — 
			 Streatham Hill railway station 1585969 — 
			 Streatham Hill railway station 1585971 — 
			 Streatham Hill railway station 1586038 — 
			 Talk:A Brighter Summer Day 138120049 Plot spoilers removed 
			 Talk:James Fenton/Comments 131268154 [[WPAES|]]Created page with 'This article is VERY POOR in terms of failing to h wide-ranging intellectual interests and a concer..." 
			 Talk:Kennington Park 83900443 — 
			 Talk:Peter F. Hamilton 6942226 — 
			 Talk:Transformational Government 79026089 — 
			 The Fourth Horseman 69614762 /* Part 2 */ 
			 The Guardian 6941893 /* Supplements */ 
			 User talk:Mailer diablo 116804531 deletion james hulme 
			 West Yorkshire 7062291 /* Places of interest */added categories 
			 Wiki 8264708 — 
			 Wikipedia:Sandbox 20041140 /* A new title */ 
			 Wikipedia:Sandbox/History 10826753 — 
			 Wikipedia.Tutorial (Editing)/sandbox 18659308 /* This is a Headline */ 
			 Wikipedia:Tutorial (Editing)/sandbox 19772543 /* Level 2 */ 
			 (1) Diff is a file comparison utility that outputs the differences between two files. The number here refers to the page change in Wikipedia. This report was created using http://wikiscanner.virgil.gr/ (2) The comments here were added by the editor making the change to the page and generated in the report referred to in 1.

Departmental Video Conferencing

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will set a target to increase the use of video-conferencing by his Department to reduce the need to travel to meetings.

Margaret Hodge: My Department installed a new video-conferencing system as part of the recent refurbishment of our HQ building. This system is already widely used, and we are promoting the use of video-conferencing to staff with the aim of doubling use by 2010.

Heritage Lottery Fund

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will make a statement on the Heritage Lottery Fund's new mentoring scheme.

Margaret Hodge: The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) will launch its third strategic plan in April 2008, with changes and improvements to all its grant programmes. HLF will offer a mentoring service to applicants who need extra help in developing their projects, to increase the capacity and skills of groups applying for grants and to help improve the delivery of projects.
	The role of a mentor is to help the organisation and individuals leading the project to achieve the project's aims. Mentors may give general advice on how to carry out the project, specialist advice where a project team lacks particular experience, and guidance on good practice.

WALES

Departmental Sustainable Development

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when his Department plans to publish its sustainable operations policy statement.

Paul Murphy: My Department is currently establishing a sustainable operations policy.
	We already have a robust recycling programme for paper, cans, glass, plastic, cardboard and shredding. We recycled 5,913 kg from April to September 2007. We have been successful in reducing both energy and water consumption, and 100 per cent. of our electricity is supplied from renewable sources.
	As soon as the policy is in place the statement will be published on our website.

Departmental Video Conferencing

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will set a target to increase the use of video-conferencing by his Department to reduce the need to travel to meetings.

Paul Murphy: The Wales Office is always looking at ways to reduce the need to travel to meetings. Staff are encouraged to use video conferencing facilities, both in London and Cardiff, for meetings whenever possible and do so on a regular basis.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Royal Naval ratings are being retrained to act as HGV drivers in Afghanistan.

Bob Ainsworth: Currently, 36 Royal Navy ratings are being trained as HGV drivers in preparation for deployment to Afghanistan with three Commando Brigade Royal Marines later this year.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of expenditure on British military operations in Afghanistan during  (a) 2007-08,  (b) 2008-09 and  (c) 2009-10.

Des Browne: The MOD has requested £1.649 billion from the Treasury Reserve to cover the net additional costs of operations in Afghanistan for 2007-08. The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in his Budget speech that we expect to spend over £2 billion supporting operations in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2008-09. The highly changeable nature of operations means that we are not able to provide an accurate forecast for Afghanistan alone nor any indication of cost for 2009-10.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what criteria he uses to assess the effectiveness of spending on British military operations in Afghanistan.

Des Browne: The success of British military operations in Afghanistan (for which the net additional cost is funded from the Treasury Reserve), is judged against military strategic objectives set by the Chief of the Defence Staff.
	Progress is reported quarterly by the relevant commander through the Department's formal performance management process (the Defence Balanced Scorecard), which includes endorsement by the Deputy Chief of Defence Staff (Commitments). The Balanced Scorecard is reviewed by the Defence Board. The Defence Board's conclusions are submitted to Ministers and reflected in the Department's quarterly published public service agreement (PSA) reports and in the departmental annual report and accounts.
	As part of its review of Departments' SR04 PSA reporting systems, the National Audit Office concluded that the MOD's data system is fit for the purpose of measuring and reporting performance against this target and that it found no weaknesses in the quality of disclosure of Ministry of Defence public performance reports.

Armed Forces: Mental Health Services

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions  (a) he and  (b) officials from his Department have had with representatives of Global Health Partners on contracts operated by the Priory Group; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: Neither I nor officials are aware of any recent discussions with Global Health Partners on contracts operated by the Priory Group.

Cyprus: Armed Forces

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many complaints have been received from  (a) service personnel and  (b) dependents of service personnel about treatment received after referral by a service doctor to hospitals in Cyprus in each of the last 10 years.

Derek Twigg: The majority of complaints received by Commander Medical BFC concerning either The Princess Mary hospital (TPMH, based at RAF Akrotiri) or one of the Republic of Cyprus (RoC) medical facilities are resolved locally and to the satisfaction of the complainant. TPMH operate a robust complaints procedure which is based on the equivalent NHS processes.
	Records are available for 1999-2007 concerning treatment received in civilian medical facilities in the Republic of Cyprus. In this period there have been a total of 22 complaints (six from service personnel and 16 from dependents) recorded.
	
		
			   Complaints recorded as being made by service personnel  Complaints recorded as being made by dependents 
			 1999 0 1 
			 2000 0 1 
			 2001 0 2 
			 2002 0 1 
			 2003 0 0 
			 2004 0 1 
			 2005 2 5 
			 2006 2 3 
			 2007 2 2 
		
	
	During the same time frame 137 complaints were made against TPMH itself (58 by service personnel and 79 by dependents):
	
		
			   Complaints recorded as being made by service personnel  Complaints recorded as being made by dependents 
			 1999 5 12 
			 2000 5 3 
			 2001 3 7 
			 2002 5 10 
			 2003 10 10 
			 2004 7 9 
			 2005 10 14 
			 2006 7 7 
			 2007 6 7 
		
	
	The incidence of complaints made by service personnel and their dependents concerning medical care in Cyprus (both complaints against RoC medical facilities and TPMH) is broadly comparable to the incidence of complaints received by the NHS in England when allowance for the very different size of patient population is made.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  if he will break down, by sub-head in  (a) near cash and  (b) non-cash terms his Department's (i) gross resource outturn, (ii) operating appropriations in aid outturn, (iii) gross capital outturn and (iv) non-operating appropriations in aid outturn for financial years 2001-02 to 2006-07;
	(2)  what his Department's  (a) gross resource departmental expenditure limit (DEL),  (b) operating appropriations in aid,  (c) net capital DEL and  (d) non-operating appropriations in aid outturn, broken down in (i) near cash and (ii) non cash terms, was for financial years 2000-01 to 2006-07.

Bob Ainsworth: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.
	 Substantive answer from Bob Ainsworth to Gerald Howarth:
	I undertook to write to you in answer to your Parliamentary Questions on 4 March 2008,  Official Report, column 2346W and 5 March 2008,  Official Report, column 2284W, with details on various aspects of Departmental Public expenditure.
	Attached at Annex A are tables which provide a detailed breakdown of the Department's outturn for 2001-02 to 2006-07, together with a breakdown of the Department's Spring Supplementary Estimate for 2007-08.
	The figures are based on the accounting regime in effect at the time that those accounts were produced. Prior to financial year 2001-02, all Departmental expenditure recorded in the Estimates and accounts was on a cash basis. This data was published in the Estimates reports and end of year Appropriations Accounts, copies of which can be found in the Library of the House. Prior to the introduction of Stage 2 Resource Accounting and Budgeting (RAB) in Financial Year 2003-04 non-cash DEL did not exist as a budgeting aggregate. The non-cash costs were scored to Non-Cash AME.
	I am placing a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many road side bomb attacks there were in Basra in each year since 2003.

Des Browne: holding answer 19 March 2008
	The number of reported improvised explosive device (IED) attacks in Basra in each year since 2003 is as follows:
	
		
			   Total 
			 2003 31 
			 2004 115 
			 2005 82 
			 2006 169 
			 2007 296 
			 2008 24 
		
	
	Data for 2003 covers the period after 6 May 2003. The figure for 2008 is for incidents up until 14 March 2008.
	These data reflect reported attacks on both military and civilian targets where IEDs have detonated. The figures can only be an estimate of the actual number of such incidents, as, for example, we can never be sure that all attacks, especially against civilian targets, have been reported.

Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency: RAF Fairford

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he has had with the US authorities on the level of policing at RAF Fairford by the Ministry of Defence Police.

Bob Ainsworth: Discussions are currently taking place between officials and the US authorities on the policing arrangements for RAF Fairford. This is part of a continuing review of security at bases used by the United States visiting force. Any changes in security would not take place without mutual agreement.

Porton Down: Human Experiments

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what settlement has been reached in respect of veterans' claims relating to participation in trials at Porton Down; what the implications of the settlement are for veterans not represented in the claims made; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.
	 Substantive answer from Derek Twigg to Mark Todd:
	I undertook to write to you in answer to your Parliamentary Question on 28 February 2008,  Official Report, column 1808W, about compensation for Porton Down veterans.
	Solicitors on behalf of Porton Down veterans issued the Ministry of Defence (MOD) with a letter of claim on 8 March 2007 for alleged illnesses arising from non-therapeutic human experimentation conducted at Porton Down. 244 veterans claiming short term illnesses and 116 claiming long term illnesses formed a Group Action. The majority of claims relate to experiments involving nerve gas, mustard gas or riot control agents.
	The matter has been resolved by way of mediation at which the MOD agreed to pay a global settlement of £3 million in full and final settlement to the entire group of 360 veterans and to make an apology by way of a written ministerial statement in the House, which I did on 31 January 2008,  Official Report, column 26WS. The MOD has therefore paid all known claims from Porton Down veterans.
	That said we recognise that more veterans, some of whom decided against joining the Group Action, might come forward. This is despite being assured by the Claimants' solicitors that the Group Action had been publicised and that those who remained in the group had been carefully selected on the basis that each had a meritorious claim for personal injury said to have been caused by exposure to a specific chemical warfare or treatment agent which was supported by expert evidence. I should make clear that the MOD did not compensate individuals for mere attendance at Porton Down.
	Against this background, the MOD has decided that it will consider any additional meritorious claims that are made on or before 30 June 2008; after that date, the MOD reserves the right to plead a defence based on the provisions of the Limitation Act 1980.
	Any veteran now considering pursuing a claim for compensation might wish seek advice to establish whether they have a reasonable claim against the Department. One option would be to contact the solicitors involved in the Group Action who have considerable experience already in handling such cases. They are:
	Leigh Day & Co.
	Solicitors
	Priory House
	25 St. Johns Lane
	London
	EC1M 4LB
	or
	Thompson Snell & Passmore
	3 Lonsdale Gardens
	Tunbridge Wells
	Kent
	TN1 1NX

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Adventure Capital Fund: Contracts

John Battle: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what criteria his Department used in the process which resulted in Adventure Capital Fund being awarded a contract to distribute grant funding; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: The criteria used to determine the new fund manager for the Futurebuilders programme were:
	quality and efficiency of service;
	quality of bidding organisation or consortium;
	engagement with the Government's aims for the third sector; and
	price.
	The Cabinet Office used the European Union model known as the "competitive dialogue" process, which allowed the Cabinet Office to discuss its needs and requirements with a pool of potential bidders with the aim of selecting one or more solutions capable of meeting its needs.
	The Adventure Capital Fund (ACF) submitted the tender that best met the set criteria for the re-tender and offered best value.

Futurebuilders England: Contracts

John Battle: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster for what reasons his Department's contract with Futurebuilders England for the distribution of grant funding was not renewed.

Phil Hope: The tripartite agreement between Cabinet Office, Futurebuilders England and Charity Bank expires on 31 March 2008. In recognition of its success to date, Ministers have decided to continue the programme into a second phase. The second phase of the programme will see the arrangement moving to a bipartite structure, between the Cabinet Office and the fund manager. Under new procurement rules, this required a new tender process. Following this process Cabinet Office have appointed the successful bidder to run the fund from April 2008 to April 2011.

TRANSPORT

Aviation: Exhaust Emissions

Robert Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what methodology for assigning international aviation emissions to the national emission inventories the Government are advocating in the international negotiations for a post-2012 framework to tackle climate change.

Phil Woolas: I have been asked to reply.
	DEFRA commissioned a study, published in 2006, which examined what the different allocation methodologies proposed by the UNFCCC Subsidiary Body on Scientific and Technical Advice (SBSTA) would mean to greenhouse gas inventories (UK and all others). No judgement was made on which methodology the UK advocated.
	The inventory includes domestic aviation and international aviation as a memo item (using bunker fuel sales to estimate the GHG emission). A recent workshop in Oslo looked at methodological issues with regards to the climate change impact of aviation—it was concluded that whilst it is technically feasible to include international aviation in a post-2012 agreement, there is a political barrier to this at present.
	We continue to work with EU and international partners to seek a way through the current political impasse, and very much hope to see it included in future frameworks for tackling climate change.

Departmental Data Protection

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many confirmed security breaches of databases controlled by her Department occurred in each of the last five years; whether the breach resulted from internal or external sources in each case; how many records were compromised on each occasion; and what estimate was made of the total number of records accessible to the individuals concerned.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Except in exceptional cases, when it is in the public interest, it has been the policy of successive Governments not to comment on breaches of security. However, following the publication of the "Data Handling Procedures in Government: Interim Progress Report" on 17 December 2007,  Official Report, column 98WS, all Departments will cover information assurance in their annual reports.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what mechanisms the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency uses to check the bona fides of private parking control companies before releasing personal data relating to vehicle owners and operators to them; what steps the Agency takes to assess the uses to which such data is put by such companies; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 7 January 2008
	In the Secretary of State for Transport's statement to Parliament on 17 December she outlined measures to improve the security of personal data in the context of the Cabinet Secretary's review of data across Government.
	She also advised that, to ensure greater clarity of responsibility, the Permanent Secretary has written to senior officials in the Department, including Agency Chief Executives, drawing their attention to current guidance on the application of the Data Protection Act 1998. This includes the main principles of the Act, information on handling personal data appropriately and the role of the Information Commissioner.
	New measures for companies requesting information manually were introduced on 1 November 2006, following the review of the release of information from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency's (DVLA) records announced by the then Minister of State for Transport, my hon. Friend the Member for South Thanet (Dr. Ladyman). The use of company headed paper has been replaced by the introduction of two new forms—V888/2 and V888/3. All applications must be supported with a business resume outlining details of the company's operations and provide details of why they want the information and how it will be used, as well as evidence to corroborate their request.
	Car park enforcement companies have to confirm that a parking charge scheme is in operation, and provide evidence that they are operating on the instruction of the landowner. All forms contain a note that reminds applicants that it is a criminal offence under Section 55 of the DPA to falsely obtain personal information.
	Companies that request and receive data via a secure electronic link do so under strict contractual terms and must firstly complete a six-month probationary period making manual requests, during which time their behaviour in the use of the information is monitored. The level and nature of any complaints is taken into account before an electronic link is established. Since 1 October 2007, all organisations that do not have a statutory regulator are required to be a member of a DVLA Accredited Trade Association (ATA).
	An ATA must have a clear, enforceable code of practice (COP) governing the conduct and business practices of their members and will publish that COP on their website, along with a list of their members. ATAs that fail to enforce their COP will lose their accreditation and their members will forfeit their entitlement to request and receive DVLA data electronically.
	The Agency has the right to carry out ad-hoc audits on companies to ensure that inquiries are appropriate. Any evidence of abuse will be referred to the Information Commissioner for investigation and, when appropriate, prosecution.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport under what circumstances the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency may release details of vehicle ownership to private companies; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: In the Secretary of State for Transport's statement to Parliament on 17 December, she outlined measures to improve the security of personal data in the context of the Cabinet Secretary's review of data across Government.
	She also advised that, to ensure greater clarity of responsibility, the Permanent Secretary had written to senior officials in the Department, including Agency Chief Executives, to draw their attention to current guidance on the application of the Data Protection Act. This includes the main principles of the Act, information on handling personal data appropriately and the role of the Information Commissioner.
	Regulation 27(1)(e) of the Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) Regulations 2002 requires the DVLA to release information to any person who can demonstrate 'reasonable cause' to have that information.
	The term 'reasonable cause' is not defined in legislation but the DVLA has always taken the view that release should normally be associated with road safety or events occurring as a direct consequence of the use of the vehicle. Everybody that applies for personal information is required to produce evidence that they have 'reasonable cause' for requesting the information.
	A full list of the circumstances that the DVLA has, in the past, considered to meet 'reasonable cause' has been published on the DVLA and Direct.gov websites. The website also contains a list of bodies that it has released information to and the names of companies that have approved conditional access (ACA) which allows companies to request and receive information via an electronic link.

Heathrow Airport

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many responses have been received to the Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport consultation; and how many of these were from  (a) individuals,  (b) organisations and  (c) groups of individuals.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 25 March 2008
	 The 'Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport' consultation ended on 27 February. We are not yet in a position to provide data on the numbers of responses received or provide any breakdowns.

M1: Bedfordshire

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consideration  (a) her Department and  (b) its agencies have given to widening the M1 between junctions 10 and 13; what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of such motorway widening; and when she expects such work on widening to commence.

Tom Harris: A scheme to widen the M1 between junctions 10 and 13 is currently being prepared by the Highways Agency. Following the publication of the Advanced Motorway Signalling and Traffic Management Feasibility Study on 4 March 2008 we have also asked the Agency to examine whether active traffic management with hard shoulder running might be a cost effective alternative to widening on some sections. The scheme cost and the timetable for works to commence are dependent on the option that we decide to take forward.

M1: M62

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what her policy is on widening parts of the M62; what research her Department and its agencies have commissioned on M1/M62 widening and improvements in the last three years; what estimate she has made of the cost of such widening and improvements; and when she expects work to commence on the outstanding sections of the M1/M62 widening and improvements package.

Tom Harris: It is our policy to provide targeted improvements on seriously congested sections of the road network, subject to schemes offering value for money and being affordable. The Highways Agency has carried out detailed investigations over the last three years into options for increasing capacity on the M62 between junctions 25 and 28 and on the M1 between junctions 30 and 42. A scheme to widen the M1 between junctions 31 and 32 was opened to traffic in December 2007 and fully complete in February 2008.
	In light of the results of the Advanced Motorway Signalling and Traffic Management Feasibility Study published on 4 March, the Highways Agency will be examining whether Active Traffic Management including hard shoulder running would provide a cost effective means of providing additional capacity on the other sections. The scheme cost and delivery timetable are dependent on the options that we decide to take forward for each section.

M6: East Midlands

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what estimate she has made of the cost of widening the M6 between junctions 11a and 19; when she expects such work to commence; and whether plans for such widening include  (a) a stretch of four-laned motorway through the East Midlands,  (b) climbing lanes for lorries and  (c) junction improvements;
	(2)  what progress has been made on the widening of the M6 between Manchester and Birmingham; and what account she has taken of the potential for hard shoulder running in developing those proposals;
	(3)  what steps she is taking on the widening of the M6 between junctions 11a and 19.

Tom Harris: The Highways Agency has been preparing proposals for widening the M6 between junctions 11a and 19. However, in light of the findings of the Advanced Motorway Signalling and Traffic Management Feasibility Study published on 4 March, the Agency will carry out a detailed assessment of whether Active Traffic Management, including hard shoulder running, would be a more cost effective method of adding capacity than widening on sections of the M6 between junctions 11a and 19. The assessment will also include examination of the case for climbing lanes and junction improvements. The cost and delivery timetable for these improvements are dependent on the option selected. This section of the M6 does not run through the East Midlands.

Motor Vehicles

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when she plans to publish the report of the study of longer, heavier road vehicles commissioned by her Department in December 2005; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The study was actually commissioned in October 2006. We expect the report to be published shortly.

Motorcycles: Safety Measures

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether she has made an assessment of the effectiveness of measures for improving the safety of motorcycle users established in the Government's motorcycling strategy; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Government's motorcycling strategy includes a wide range of actions. We regularly keep each of these under review, working with motorcycling industry and user groups through the National Motorcycle Council and its four sub-groups.

Railways

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate she has made of the  (a) cost and  (b) time required to complete high speed rail links from London to (i) Birmingham, (ii) Manchester and (iii) Scotland.

Tom Harris: holding answer 19 March 2008
	In developing the July 2007 Rail White Paper, the Department for Transport commissioned work on various inter-urban capacity options. One element of this work suggested a high-speed line between London and Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow might cost £29 billion. It should be noted that, informed by this and other work, the White Paper made clear that a new line was not necessary in the period 2009-14.

Railways

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what her policy is on committing to  (a) network wide electrification,  (b) a high speed line and  (c) other all or nothing projects.

Tom Harris: holding answer 20 March 2008
	 Electrification and new rail lines are not necessarily 'all or nothing' projects. We are beginning work with the rail industry to re-examine the long-term cases for electrification and new lines. Options identified may include incremental solutions such as electrifying short stretches of line where there is a strong argument in favour of doing so.

Railways: Consultants

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much has been spent on consultants for work on high speed rail links from London to Birmingham, Manchester and Scotland in each of the last five years.

Tom Harris: holding answer 19 March 2008
	In developing the July 2007 Rail White Paper, the Department for transport commissioned work on various inter-urban capacity options.
	In the year preceding the July 2007 Rail White Paper, work on the potential for new lines amounted to around £250,000. No substantial sums were spent by the Department in previous years.

Railways: Standards

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many delay minutes there were on the railway network in each year since 1993 for which  (a) Railtrack and Network Rail and  (b) a train operating company was responsible; and what the equivalent figures were for the most recent month for which data are available.

Tom Harris: holding answer 20 March 2008
	 The Department for Transport holds the data requested only from 2005-06 when it took over responsibility for rail passenger franchises. These figures relate to delays caused to franchised passenger services, and are:
	
		
			  mins 
			   2005-06  2006-07 
			  (a) Network Rail 8,256,000 8,251,000 
			  (b) Train operating companies 7,379,000 6,304,000 
			 Total 15,635,000 14,555,000 
		
	
	The most recently available equivalent data (for the year ending 2 February 2008) is given in the following table.
	
		
			   (mins) 
			  (a) Network Rail 7,689,000 
			  (b) Train operating companies 5,506,000 
			 Total 13,195,000 
		
	
	To seek historic data prior to 2005-06, the hon. Member is advised to contact Network Rail at the following address.
	Chief Executive
	Network Rail
	40 Melton Street
	London
	NW1 2EE

Roads: Tolls

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reasons the amendments to the Road User Charging (Charges and Penalty) (London) Regulations due for completion by the end of 2007 have not yet been made.

Rosie Winterton: The Department for Transport (DfT) expects to have the necessary resources available to complete consultation on the amendments to the road user charging regulations ready for implementation in 2009.

TREASURY

Departmental Data Protection

David Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what occasions officials of  (a) his Department and  (b) HM Revenue and Customs were (i) disciplined and (ii) dismissed for (A) alleged breaches of data protection requirements and (B) inappropriate use of personal or sensitive data, broken down by (1) grade, (2) sex and (3) age in each of the last five years for which information is available.

Jane Kennedy: The requested information is not available.

Devolution: Finance

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the  (a) amount and  (b) purpose of payments made to Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland outside (i) block grants calculated under the Barnett formula and (ii) main departmental programmes in annually managed expenditure was in each year since 1997.

Yvette Cooper: Figures for departmental expenditure limits and departmental annually managed expenditure for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are published in Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses. Changes in DEL are determined as set out in the Statement of Funding Policy. Forecasts of annually managed spending are updated in the Budget and pre-Budget report in the normal way. Details of specific settlements for the devolved Administrations are set out in the relevant spending review White Paper. The devolved Administrations' spending plans are set out in their own budget publications.

Income: Equality

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 22 February 2008,  Official Report, column 112W, on income: equality, what assessment he has made of trends in  (a) national prosperity and  (b) household income inequality in (i) England, (ii) the North East, (iii) Tees Valley district and (iv) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency.

Jane Kennedy: The ONS publishes measures of regional gross value added (GVA) per head in current prices in the regional accounts publication. The lowest regional level available is the NUTS3 level (unitary authorities or districts). The published data show a significant increase in GVA per head in England, North East and Tees Valley since 1997. There are no published data for Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland as they are below the NUTS3 level.
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=7359
	Currently there are no available statistics of household income inequality at regional level. Data at UK level are published by the DWP in "Households Below Average Income" and by the ONS in "The Effects of Taxes and Benefits on Household Income". Available statistics show that the inequality at UK level has been stable since 1997.

Public Expenditure

Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the level of Government spending per capita was in each of the last 10 years.

Yvette Cooper: Total managed expenditure per head (total UK population) from 1997-98 to 2006-07 is provided in the following table:
	
		
			  Financial year  Total managed expenditure divided by UK population  (£) 
			 1997-98 5,521 
			 1998-99 5,657 
			 1999-2000 5,843 
			 2000-01 6,183 
			 2001-02 6,582 
			 2002-03 7,097 
			 2003-04 7,648 
			 2004-05 8,232 
			 2005-06 8,703 
			 2006-07 9,074

Restricted Share Awards

John Battle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his policy is on the payment of bonuses through restricted share awards.

Jane Kennedy: It is for employers to decide how and how much their employees are paid in the light of what is necessary to recruit, retain and motivate labour in the market conditions in which they operate. Government policy is to ensure that all employers and employees pay the proper amount of tax and national insurance contributions on these rewards of employment, however these rewards are delivered.

Stamp Duty Land Tax

David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will reconsider again at whether Stamp Duty/Land Tax (SDLT) should be charged on shared equity properties for first time buyers when they reach the thresholds for SDLT because of changes to house prices especially, in southern England.

Angela Eagle: Stamp duty rates and thresholds, like all other taxes, are kept under review as part of the Budget process.

Taxation: Social Security Benefits

Michael Penning: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his Department's policy on the taxation of social security benefits is.

Angela Eagle: Social security benefits are taxable when they are paid as a substitute for earned income. Income related social security benefits, child allowances and disability allowances are generally not taxable.

VAT: Repayments

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average time taken by HM Revenue and Customs to process a value added tax refund was in each of the last five years.

Jane Kennedy: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is committed to paying correct repayment claims without undue delay. It does not keep figures on average processing times, but operates to a published target to authorise at least 90 per cent. of correct repayment returns within 10 working days of their receipt. At the same time, HMRC makes clear to businesses that it will carry out checks and apply safeguards to ensure that claims are legitimate and accurate. In each of the past five years the target has been met.

Young People

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many  (a) men and  (b) women in the age groups (i) 15 to 19 years and (ii) 20 to 24 years there were in the UK in each year since 1991.

Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 26 March 2006:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your question on how many (a) men and (b) women in the age groups (i) 15 to 19 years and (ii) 20 to 24 years there were in the UK in each year since 1991. (196824)
	The latest available population estimates are for mid-2006. The attached table shows the figures requested:
	
		
			  Mid-year  p opulation  e stimates: United Kingdom; estimated resident  population at ages 15 to 19 and 20 to 24 by sex, 1991 to 2006 
			  Thousand 
			   Male  Female 
			   15 to 19  20 to 24  15 to 19  20 to 24 
			 1991 1,905 2,242 1,815 2,207 
			 1992 1,802 2,193 1,729 2,157 
			 1993 1,733 2,135 1,672 2,097 
			 1994 1,721 2,053 1,666 2,021 
			 1995 1,737 1,979 1,687 1,951 
			 1996 1,763 1,889 1,716 1,863 
			 1997 1,799 1,800 1,752 1,780 
			 1998 1,829 1,741 1,780 1,729 
			 1999 1,839 1,737 1,786 1,727 
			 2000 1,850 1,757 1,783 1,750 
			 2001 1,879 1,792 1,799 1,790 
			 2002 1,935 1,823 1,822 1,820 
			 2003 1,989 1,866 1,867 1,851 
			 2004 2,018 1,935 1,903 1,882 
			 2005 2,030 2,000 1,927 1,929 
			 2006 2,060 2,048 1,936 1,976 
			  Sources: Office for National Statistics, General Register Office for Scotland and Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency

WORK AND PENSIONS

Child Support Agency: Payments

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many individuals received consolatory payments from  (a) his Department,  (b) the Child Support Agency,  (c) Jobcentre or Jobcentre Plus,  (d) the Disability and Carers Service,  (e) the Pension Service,  (f) the Rent Service and  (g) the Debt Management Service in each year since 1997; what the average value of payments made in each year was; and how much was paid in consolatory payments in each year in each case.

James Plaskitt: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the tables.
	
		
			  Consolatory payments made by DWP 
			   Total value of payments (rounded to nearest £000)  Number of individual awards made( 1) 
			 2006-07 850,000 11,389 
			 2005-06 822,000 11,435 
			 2004-05 752,000 10,946 
			 2003-04 557,000 7,248 
			 2002-03 773,000 9,725 
			 2001-02 835,000 9,811 
			 2000-01 758,000 7,553 
			 1999-2000 575,000 5,211 
			 1998-99 664,000 4,645 
		
	
	
		
			  Consolatory payments made by DWP agencies 
			   Total value of payments (rounded to nearest £000)  Number of individual awards made( 1) 
			  2006-07   
			 TPS 43,000 509 
			 JCP 109,000 1265 
			 DCS 25,000 272 
			 CSA 666,000 9,194 
			
			  2005-06   
			 TPS 38,000 414 
			 JCP 125,000 1,294 
			 DCS 35,000 323 
			 CSA 608,000 9,208 
			
			  2004-05   
			 TPS 38,000 511 
			 JCP 96,000 993 
			 DCS 29,000 322 
			 CSA 582,000 8,998 
			
			  2003-04   
			 TPS 23,000 304 
			 JCP 90,000 932 
			 DCS 24,000 289 
			 CSA 407,000 5,561 
			
			  2002-03   
			 TPS 14,000 150 
			 JCP 60,000 667 
			 DCS 33,000 377 
			 CSA 661,000 8,443 
			
			  2001-02   
			 BA 83,000 849 
			 CSA 696,000 8,320 
			
			  2000-01   
			 BA 72,000 737 
			 CSA 654,000 6,336 
			
			  1999-2000   
			 BA 82,000 682 
			 CSA 485,000 4,469 
			
			  1998-99   
			 BA 80,000 300 
			 CSA 565,000 4,235 
			 ( 1 ) Notes: 1. The Department has three main categories of consolatory payments. Where a person is found to have suffered gross inconvenience, embarrassment or severe distress as a result of maladministration a consolatory payment is made. Each case is judged on its individual merits and an award is made, as applicable, for each of these categories. 2. The Department does not retain details of the number of individuals who receive consolatory payments. Records are retained of the number of awards made under each of the above categories. Where, for example, a customer receives an initial award based on an early examination of a complaint he may later receive additional awards as a result of further investigation or under one of the other categories. The number of awards made therefore exceeds the number of individuals concerned. 3. The first table shows the entire sum awarded as consolatory payments by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and its predecessor, the Department of Social Security (DSS). The figures include those paid by agencies that were part of the Department at the relevant time. 4. The Pension Service, Jobcentre Plus and the Disability and Carers Service were formed in 2002, prior to this they were part of the Benefits Agency (BA).  5. Debt Management is not an Executive agency of DWP. A consolatory payment awarded because of maladministration by Debt Management is awarded by Jobcentre Plus. 6. The Rent Service (TRS) was formed in October 1999 as an Executive agency of the Department of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. TRS became an executive agency of the Department for Work and Pensions in June 2001. The Rent Service has not made any consolatory payments.

Departmental Disclosure of Information

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what action has been taken in response to allegations of a breach of the Civil Service Code in respect of unauthorised publication of material on the internet by a member of his Department; what the cost to the public purse of this action has been; what the results were; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: The Department takes any allegation of a breach of the civil service code seriously. It would be inappropriate to comment on any investigation or disciplinary procedure.

Departmental ICT

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many  (a) mobile telephones,  (b) personal digital assistants and  (c) laptop computers issued to departmental staff were reported (i) lost, (ii) missing and (iii) stolen in each year since 2001.

Anne McGuire: The following table shows the numbers of  (a) mobile telephones  (b) personal digital assistants (PDAs), and  (c) laptop computers which were issued to departmental staff and were reported as stolen, lost, or missing (presumed to be stolen) since 2001, together with the average number of staff in each year. The records do not differentiate between those items which were reported as lost, stolen or missing, respectively.
	
		
			   Total number of staff  Mobile phones  PDAs  Laptops 
			 2001 (1)86,806 1 0 23 
			 2002 124,117 3 0 42 
			 2003 131,409 30 0 42 
			 2004 130,786 34 1 75 
			 2005 126,988 31 0 46 
			 2006 119,972 15 0 28 
			 2007 114,500 14 19 15 
			 (1 )Figure relates to the former Department of Social Security only.

Employment: Rural Areas

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the likely effects of the proposals contained in the Green Paper, In Work Better Off: Next steps to full employment on rural communities; by what process such an assessment was reached; and what steps he plans to take to ensure that rural communities receive in equitable benefit from the implementation of any proposals arising out of the Green Paper.

Stephen Timms: Most Department of Work and Pensions policies and programmes are aimed at individuals, with eligibility dependent on personal circumstances rather than where they live. This means that even without specific targeting the help provided by the Department is concentrated in areas facing labour market disadvantage. Over the last ten years, the biggest labour market improvements have been in the areas that started in the worst position.
	In addition to national programmes there is also a range of locally flexible support, such as the Jobcentre Plus Adviser Discretion Fund, the Deprived Areas Fund and the new Working Neighbourhoods Fund.
	When determining how to deliver its services, Jobcentre Plus also considers the implications for rural and other areas. For example, support is provided not only through the Jobcentre network but also by telephone through the Contact Centre and Benefit Delivery Centre network as well as the internet. This allows all customers to access key services regardless of where they live. Where there are issues about the ability of customers to access Jobcentre Plus support, provision can be made for additional or more flexible arrangements. These include the installation of jobpoints in libraries, surgeries in third party premises, partnering in local authority outlets and, where practical, some mobile services.
	Taken together, the Department's approach helps to ensure that individuals in deprived communities across the country are able to get the help and support they need to move back into work. However, our new generation of employment programmes, including Pathways to Work and the flexible New Deal, will offer further scope for provision to be tailored to the needs of individuals in different geographical locations and those facing particular labour market challenges.
	On 13 December 2007, we published 'Ready for work: full employment in our generation' which sets out the measures the Government will take to reach the goals of an 80 per cent. employment rate and working people with world class skills. The paper responds to the 'In work, better off' consultation exercise which ran from July to October 2007. A full assessment of the effects of those measures will be carried out as part of post-implementation evaluation.
	A key feature of the measures is the need to provide more flexible, responsive and individually focused employment and skills support. For example, by extending our use of private and voluntary sector organisations we will be making use of their knowledge of the challenges faced by particular groups or localities. They will be able to provide the right kind of support to individuals based on their particular circumstances, which could include issues related to where they live. Each contract will be evaluated as to its effectiveness throughout the duration of that contract.

Hearing Impaired

Andy Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what provision is made for deaf people to access services provided by his Department through call centres.

Anne McGuire: Deaf people can use the typetalk service or our separate textphone numbers to access all our call centres.

Housing Benefit

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance is issued by his Department to local authorities on issuing discretionary housing payments to  (a) all those in receipt of housing benefit and  (b) those in receipt of the single room rent.

James Plaskitt: Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) can be made, subject to an annual cash limit, where a person is entitled to housing benefit or council tax benefit and the local authority considers that person is in need of further financial help to meet any shortfall in their housing costs or council tax. The scheme is discretionary so it is up to local authorities to decide how they operate it, with any decisions on its use being made on a case-by-case basis.
	DWP cannot prescribe the circumstances in which an authority must make payments, but guidance has been issued to all local authorities setting out the conditions for entitlement to an award. In deciding whether to award a DHP local authorities should consider the circumstances that give rise to a shortfall.
	In our revised guidance, due to be published shortly, we make it clear that a DHP can cover a shortfall resulting from rent officer restrictions such as the single room rent.

Housing Benefit

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what the outcome was of his Department's review of the operation of the single room rent;
	(2)  what his estimate is of the quantity of accommodation that meets the criteria for eligibility for the single room rent.

James Plaskitt: The Department's recent review examined the shortfalls faced by many single room rent (SRR) claimants and considered why the majority of this group do not live in shared accommodation. Three aspects were examined—affordability, accessibility and availability of shared accommodation.
	On affordability we found that there are gaps in the market evidence on which the Rent Service set SRR rates and this may impact on affordability. However, changes to the way the Rent Service gathers market evidence brought about by the introduction of the local housing allowance (LHA) from April 2008, and a change in the SRR definition, should overcome the current evidence gaps and lead to an increase in SRR rates.
	On availability we found that some areas of the country, particularly rural areas, appear to have a shortage of shared accommodation that falls within the definition currently used for the SRR. However, the introduction of the national LHA will address some of these issues through the move to a median LHA rate and the new Shared Room Rate. The latter covers a wider definition of shared accommodation than under the current SRR and will better reflect the range of accommodation available to tenants.
	The findings on accessibility from academic research and some anecdotal evidence suggest that young people and housing benefit tenants are unpopular with landlords in the private rented sector which may restrict SRR customers' access to shared accommodation.
	The Department plans to make an initial assessment of the impact of the rollout of the LHA on the SRR as part of the two year review of the LHA.
	There are no data available to provide an accurate estimate of the quantity of accommodation that matches the definition of the SRR.

Industrial Health and Safety

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what resources his Department has made available for  (a) enforcement and  (b) advice and guidance on health and safety at work in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: The annual gross expenditure for 2002-03 to 2006-07 on enforcement (including investigations) and advice and guidance on health and safety at work by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which is sponsored by the Department for Work and Pensions, is provided in the following table.
	
		
			  HSE's gross expenditure( 1) 
			  £ million 
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Enforcement and Investigation(2) 39.9 40.2 38.8 41.4 51.0 
			 Advice and Guidance(3) 18.1 21.7 21.8 34.2 33.7 
			 (1) To allow comparison across the years, the figures have been adjusted for years 2002-03 to 2004-05 to exclude HSE's Rail Safety function which transferred to the Office of Rail Regulation on 1 April 2006. (2) HSE measures the cost of enforcement from the point at which it decides to proceed with legal sanctions and the cost depends on a range of factors, many of which are not in HSE's control, e.g. whether a prosecution is defended. HSE investigates those incidents reported to it that fall within the Health and Safety Commission's incident selection criteria and this is one of the main activities from which enforcement is initiated and the costs are included in the table. Figures are based on historical work recording data from HSE's Field Operations Directorate, Hazardous Installations Directorate and Nuclear Directorate; and its Corporate Science and Analytical Services Directorate and Health and Safety Laboratory's expenditure in support of enforcement activities. (3) Advice and guidance includes that given by inspectors in Field Operations Directorate. Also included are resources that HSE spends on providing information e.g. through campaigns, guidance through publications, staff in other directorates and its Infoline service.

Industrial Training: Standards

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many complaints his Department has received about the suitability of placements offered to people by Skills Training UK in the last 12 months.

Stephen Timms: My Department is not aware of any complaints in the last 12 months about the suitability of placements offered by Skills Training UK.

Industrial Training: Standards

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment his Department has made of the  (a) safety,  (b) suitability and  (c) value of placements offered to people by Skills Training UK; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: All welfare to work contractors, including Skills Training UK, are required to meet the quality and delivery standards set out in the contract specification, and are subject to contract management and monitoring by professional and trained procurement staff, in addition to any Ofsted inspection and audit.
	The Department's contract management and supplier relationship processes aim to ensure that corrective measures are introduced if the provider does not achieve the level and standard of performance required. This includes the suitability and value of placements and contractual compliance issues, such as the safety of trainees during their placement.

Low Incomes: Children

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of  (a) children and  (b) pensioners lived in households with below 60 per cent. of median household income in (i) England, (ii) Scotland, (iii) Wales and (iv) each region of England, (A) before and (B) after housing costs and (1) including and (2) excluding the self-employed in each year from 1999 to 2000.

Stephen Timms: The available information has been placed in the Library.

Maternity Benefits

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people claimed maternity allowance in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: Information is not available in the format requested. Information is not available prior to 2003. The available information is in the table.
	
		
			  Maternity allowance, new claim commencements in Great Britain 
			   Number 
			 2003-04 47,100 
			 2004-05 50,300 
			 2005-06 55,300 
			 2006-07 51,000 
			  Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest hundred.  Source: DWP Maternity Allowance Quarterly Statistics

Maternity Benefits

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many people had claimed maternity allowance but had yet to receive payments as of 28 February 2008; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what the average length of time was between the point at which an individual claimed maternity allowance and the start date of their payment in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 26 March 2008:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply direct to your questions asking how many people had claimed maternity allowance but had yet to receive payments as of 28 February; and what the average length of time was between the time an individual claimed maternity allowance and the start date of their payment in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. This is something that falls within my responsibilities as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	As of 28 February we have 6,233 maternity allowance claims outstanding. We aim to clear maternity allowance claims within 20 days. We clear on average 350 claims per day, so this outstanding figure equates to 18 days of work, which is below the normal stock of work.
	From March 2007 to February 2008 we received 89,626 maternity allowance claims and have cleared 86,563. The yearly average of cleared claims is 18.16 days to the end of February.
	I hope this is helpful.

Personal Income

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average income was of the  (a) top and  (b) bottom quartile of households with dependent children in each year since 1997.

Stephen Timms: The information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Average (median) weekly equivalised incomes of the top and bottom quartile of households with dependent children since 1997 
			  £ 
			   Before housing costs  After housing costs 
			   Bottom quartile  Top quartile  Bottom quartile  Top quartile 
			 1996-97 155 512 103 412 
			 1997-98 157 520 105 419 
			 1998-99 160 535 108 433 
			 1999-2000 166 538 112 443 
			 2000-01 174 562 118 466 
			 2001-02 183 589 128 485 
			 2002-03 185 584 130 493 
			 2003-04 187 599 132 506 
			 2004-05 191 596 135 510 
			 2005-06 191 606 134 524 
			  Notes:  1. The information shown is for the United Kingdom from 2002-03 onwards. Earlier years are Great Britain only.  2. The income measures used to derive the estimates shown employ the same methodology as the Department for Work and Pensions publication 'Households Below Average Income' (HBAI) series, which uses disposable household income, equivalised for household size and composition, as a proxy for standard of living.  3. Median incomes within the relevant quartiles have been presented. We have used median rather than mean as a measure of average incomes within the quartile. This is in line with the HBAI publication, where medians are used because the mean will be heavily influenced by the small number of households having very high or very low incomes.  4. Figures have been presented on both a before housing cost and an after housing cost basis. For before housing cost, housing costs (such as rent, water rates, mortgage interest payments, structural insurance payments and ground rent and service charges) are not deducted from income, while for after housing cost they are. This means that after housing cost incomes will generally be lower than before housing cost.  5. Amounts in the tables have been rounded to the nearest pound sterling.  Source:  Family Resources Survey, 2005-06 
		
	
	The figures show that households with dependent children in the lowest quartile and highest quartile of incomes have both seen their incomes grow over the last decade. Those families with dependent children in the lowest quartile have seen their incomes grow by a greater extent than those in the highest quartile.

Social Security Benefits: Ireland

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 26 February 2008,  Official Report, column 1388W, on social security benefits: Ireland, whether discussions took place on the time migrants have to be resident before claiming benefit in the meetings referred to.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 29 February 2008
	The meetings referred to in the answer of 26 February 2008 to question 186429 were to discuss measures to prevent benefit fraud. No discussions took place at those meetings on the time migrants have to be resident before claiming benefits.

Social Security Benefits: Overpayments

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total cost of incorrect benefit payments was, excluding those payments resulting from fraud, in each of the last 10 years.

James Plaskitt: Reliable estimates regarding the total cost of incorrect benefit payments are not available from 1997-98 to 1999-2000. The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Estimated cost of incorrect benefit payments (not including fraud) 
			  £ billion 
			Cost of incorrect payments 
			   Total amount of benefit paid  Customer error  Official error 
			 2000-01 101.3 0.7 0.4 
			 2001-02 106.6 0.7 0.4 
			 2002-03 110.2 0.6 0.6 
			 2003-04 105.7 0.7 0.8 
			 2004-05 111.1 0.9 0.9 
			 2005-06 115.8 1.0 0.9 
			 2006-07 119.1 1.0 0.9 
		
	
	We have had great success in reducing benefit fraud, and we are now applying the same drive and determination to reduce the level of overpayments caused by error in the benefit system. We have:
	established a task force to reduce official error in the benefits most vulnerable to error;
	launched the first ever long term error reduction strategy which addresses both official and customer error across the whole benefits system;
	created a Benefit Simplification Unit to direct our work on reducing complexity in the benefit system.

Sunbeds

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many instances of burning from sunbed use have been reported to the Health and Safety Executive since January 2006.

Anne McGuire: There were no such instances reported to the Health and Safety Executive during this period.

Winter Fuel Payments

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions under what circumstances a retrospective claim for a winter fuel payment may be made.

Mike O'Brien: The vast majority of winter fuel payments are made automatically without the need for a claim. However a small number of people who are not in receipt of a benefit administered by DWP or who have not received a payment before need to make a claim.
	For people who need to claim, claim forms are available from July for the oncoming winter and can be submitted up to the 30 March cut off date the following year. Payment cannot be made for claims received after the cut off date.

Winter Fuel Payments: Finance

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his most recent estimate is of the cost to the public purse of extending winter fuel payments to all those eligible for the cold weather payment.

Mike O'Brien: Approximately £320 million a year.
	 Notes
	1. Cold weather payment caseload extracted from Work and Pensions Longitudinal Survey, 100 percent data.
	2. Cold weather payments to people under age 60 are made to those awarded income support or income based jobseeker's allowance who have a disability premium or a child under age five. The caseload for these benefits can go up or down from month to month. This estimate is based on those meeting the cold weather payment eligibility as at May 2006.
	3. This estimate is based upon the assumption that individuals now eligible for a winter fuel payment under the cold weather criteria do not live in the same household as any other individual eligible for a WFP (therefore they are awarded the full winter fuel payment).

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Climate Change: Population

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what consideration his Department has made of the effects of global population growth on climate change.

Phil Woolas: DEFRA ensures that UK greenhouse gas emissions projections include the impact of predicted population growth.
	Global emissions scenarios contained in the IPCC Third and Fourth Assessment Reports take into account global population growth when predicting future greenhouse gas emissions.

Crops: Biofuels

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the effects the production of biofuels has had on the production of food crops.

Phil Woolas: The impact in the EU has been very limited as less than 2 per cent. of total cereal consumption will be used for biofuels this year. The current high level of cereal prices is mainly due to a mix of short and long term factors as set out in the DEFRA briefing note "Implications of rising agricultural commodity prices" available on the DEFRA website.
	The Government are very eager to ensure that biofuel production is sustainable, and has commissioned Professor Ed Gallagher, chairman of the Renewable Fuels Agency, to lead a study on the wider economic and environmental impacts, including the impact on food prices, of different forms of biofuel production. The terms of reference for the review were published on the Department for Transport's website on 13 March.

Energy: Housing

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the effects the provisions of the Home Energy Conservation Act 1995 on the energy efficiency of  (a) local authority housing stock and  (b) privately rented homes;
	(2)  what changes the operation of the Home Energy Conservation Act 1995 has produced in levels of carbon dioxide emissions from residential housing stock;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the changes in residential accommodation energy efficiency which have resulted from the provisions of the Home Energy Conservation Act 1995;
	(4)  what estimate he has made of the tonnage change in carbon dioxide emissions as a result of the implementation of the Home Energy Conservation Act 1995;
	(5)  what estimate he has made of the terawatt hour energy savings resulting from the implementation of the Home Energy Conservation Act 1995;
	(6)  what assessment he has made of changes to levels of energy efficiency within residential accommodation as a result of the operation of the Home Energy Conservation Act 1995.

Phil Woolas: The Home Energy Conservation Act 1995 requires local authorities with housing responsibility to prepare a strategy for improving energy efficiency within residential accommodation in their areas and report annually on progress. Since 1996, authorities have reported an average total improvement of approximately 19 per cent. to 31 March 2006. Results for the period up to 31 March 2007 will be published shortly.
	A number of programmes are likely to have contributed to this improvement in energy efficiency, particularly the Energy Efficiency Commitment, Warm Front and Decent Homes. It is important to note that Home Energy Conservation Act strategies and monitoring techniques differ, and that the figures reported have not been independently verified.

Energy: Housing

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent efficiency directions have been issued to authorities that have not met the targets resulting from the Home Energy Conservation Act 1995.

Phil Woolas: The Sustainable Energy Act 2003 provides a power for the Secretary of State to issue an Energy Efficiency Direction to local authorities. This power has not been exercised.
	The Government's policy to support and incentivise increased local authority action on climate change is outlined in the 2006 UK Climate Change Programme and the 2007 Local Government White Paper.

Energy: Housing

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many local authorities achieved the improvement targets resulting from the Home Energy Conservation Act 1995 in each year since the Act was implemented; and how many he expects to achieve the targets in the next 12 months.

Phil Woolas: The Home Energy Conservation Act 1995 requires local authorities with housing responsibility to prepare a strategy for improving energy efficiency within residential accommodation. These are aimed at achieving a voluntary 30 per cent. improvement within 10 to 15 years, though authorities identify their own specific targets. Most authorities have set 15 year targets, giving them until 2011 to meet them. However, annual progress reports suggest that 4 per cent. of authorities had met their targets by 31 March 2006.

Floods: Insurance

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Mid Dorset and North Poole of 5 March 2008,  Official Report, columns 2510-11W, what progress is being made in his discussions with the insurance industry on the availability of insurance cover for homes in flood risk areas; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: A statement from the Government and Association of British Insurers (ABI) was issued on 13 February confirming joint working to carry out the regular review of the statement of principles.
	The scope of the review includes joint working groups looking at: assessing the information and mapping currently available and ensuring better understanding of flood risk; the approach to a long term strategy in order to provide effective flood risk management; promoting increased resilience, preventing inappropriate development in high flood risk areas, and addressing the interim conclusions from the Pitt Review on the availability and uptake of insurance.
	The review is expected to be finalised in the summer. In the meantime ABI members will continue to adhere to the existing statement of principles.

Forestry: Borneo

Michael Howard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has held with the Governments of Indonesia and Malaysia on deforestation on the island of Borneo; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 25 March 2008
	The Malaysian and Indonesian Governments signed the tri-Government (with Brunei) declaration on trans-boundary co-operation to preserve the Heart of Borneo in February 2007. The UK supports the development of a tri-national action plan to be completed in the first half of 2008. This will be important in shaping the future protection and sustainable use of forests on Borneo. DEFRA is currently funding 16 projects in Indonesia and Malaysia under the Darwin Initiative, including forest related projects on Borneo.
	DEFRA Ministers have met several times in the last year with their Indonesian and Malaysian counterparts, and discussed the importance of tackling deforestation in general in these countries.
	I met with Indonesian Environment Minister Witoelar on 21 February 2008, and discussed forest carbon, among other issues. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Hilary Benn) met with the Indonesian Minister of Agriculture on 1 October 2007 and discussed the problems of deforestation, and the related issues of illegal logging. He also discussed the need for a balanced approach to palm oil production. My hon. Friend the Member for Brent, North (Barry Gardiner) met with the Malaysian Minister for Plantation Industries and Commodities in May 2007, explaining the UK's concern that palm oil production is increasing the pressure on forests.

Hazardous Substances

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the toxic equivalence quote is, as the maximum allowable level of dioxin contamination permitted before some form of corrective action must be taken, in the UK; what the evidential basis for this level is; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: Maximum limits for dioxins and total toxicity equivalence (dioxins plus PCBs) in fish and fatty foods are set out in Regulation (EC) 1881/2006 and any food found to contain levels above these limits must be withdrawn from sale. Recommendation 2006/88/EC defines separate action levels for dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs in the same food categories. When a sample is found to exceed these levels, prompt action is taken to reduce the levels.
	Legislation and abatement technologies have led to a significant reduction in environmental releases and human exposure to dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs. There is no single threshold set for dioxin emissions into the environment. Directive 2000/76/EC on waste incineration set an emission limit for dioxins of 0.1 nanogram I- Toxicity Equivalence (TEQ) per cubic metre of gaseous releases to air, and emission limit values for discharges to water are set at 0.3 nanogram per litre. The Persistent Organic Pollutants regulation (EC-850/2004) brought in additional controls on the disposal of waste containing dioxins above a trigger level of 15ug/kg TEQ.

Heating: EC Law

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will ensure that the views of UK industry are sent to the European Commission officials drafting the impact assessment for the Energy-using Products Directive implementing measure for heaters and boilers.

Joan Ruddock: holding answer 25 March 2008
	My officials are in the process of preparing a submission to the Commission which sets out our view of the proposals. This has been developed following extensive consultation with industry. I would also encourage industry to submit their views directly to the Commission.

Heating: EC Law

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what consultations the Energy-using Products Board plans to hold with industry on the working document on boilers and water heaters.

Joan Ruddock: holding answer 25 March 2008
	 I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on 19 March 2008,  Official Repor t, column 1133W.

Heating: EC Law

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what consultations the Energy-using Products Board plans to have with the European Commission on the matter of boilers being outside the scope of the Energy-using Products Directive.

Joan Ruddock: holding answer 25 March 2008
	 DEFRA officials regularly meet and have discussions at EU level, including on energy efficient products, and have held a number of meetings with the Commission on the Energy-using Products Directive, including an informal meeting on the Commission's proposed implementing measure on boilers and water heaters. No specific discussions have been held on the matter of boilers being outside the scope of this directive as my Department supports their inclusion due to the high energy use of these products.
	The Commission is currently analysing responses from the boiler and water heater industry on its proposals for boilers and water heaters. DEFRA officials attended a Consultation Forum (comprising the Commission, European trade associations and other member state representatives) on these proposals on 29 February.

Home Energy Efficiency Scheme

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many complaints his Department has received from hon. Members on the operation of the Warm Front scheme.

Phil Woolas: Since 1 April 2007, DEFRA has received in the region of 340 letters from hon. Members wishing to make representations on behalf of constituents or discuss issues relating to scheme delivery.

Home Energy Efficiency Scheme: Advertising

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was spent on advertising the Warm Front Grant scheme by  (a) his Department,  (b) EAGA plc and  (c) local authorities in the financial years (i) 2003-04, (ii) 2004-05, (iii) 2005-06, (iv) 2006-07 and (v) 2007-08.

Phil Woolas: Eaga plc has responsibility for generating awareness of Warm Front as part of their contract as Scheme Manager.
	DEFRA does not hold information on the amount spent by Eaga plc on advertising the scheme or on the cost of any activities performed by local authorities to advertise Warm Front.

Home Energy Efficiency Scheme: Expenditure

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was spent on measures carried out in households under the Warm Front Scheme in  (a) 2003-04,  (b) 2004-05,  (c) 2005-06,  (d) 2006-07 and  (e) 2007-08, broken down by local authority area.

Phil Woolas: I have arranged for the information requested to be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Home Energy Efficiency Scheme: Social Security Benefits

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many benefits entitlements checks were carried out under the Warm Front Scheme in each of the last five financial years; and how many households were found to be eligible for a Warm Front qualifying benefit following a benefit entitlement check, broken down by local authority area.

Phil Woolas: Data are not recorded in a manner that will allow a breakdown by local authority. The following table illustrates the number of benefit entitlement checks carried out over the last five financial years, and, based on the information provided, how many were subsequently found to be eligible for a Warm Front qualifying benefit.
	
		
			   Number of benefit entitlement checks carried out  Number subsequently eligible for Warm Front 
			 2003-04 1,772 689 
			 2004-05 16,771 5,347 
			 2005-06 14,674 5,699 
			 2006-07 22,761 9,607 
			 2007-08 16,712 4,845 
			 Total 72,690 26,187 
		
	
	The total number of benefit checks carried out only includes households found to be ineligible for assistance when presented to the scheme.
	2007-08 figures cover work completed between 1 June 2007 and 1 March 2008.

Litter

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent steps the Government have taken to reduce the levels of litter on streets.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 25 March 2008
	The tools available to local authorities were enhanced considerably by the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005. This provided the ability to issue notices to tackle litter hotspots on private land as well litter problems attributable to a particular business activity, including the recent extension of street litter control notices to eating and drinking establishments.
	In addition, DEFRA continues to support the work of the charity ENCAMS (Environmental Campaigns) on awareness raising and behaviour change campaigns; for example, on cigarette, chewing gum and fast food-related litter, as well as a web-based training resource to help drive up standards of street cleansing and environmental services.

Low Carbon Buildings Programme: Grants

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make it his policy to double the maximum grant available under the domestic low carbon building programme.

Malcolm Wicks: I have been asked to reply.
	We have recently reviewed progress on the low carbon buildings programme household stream, consulting key stakeholders on a wide range of issues including grant levels. We are currently finalising plans and will announce shortly how we intend to take the household stream forward.

Recycling: Lancashire

Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department has taken to encourage businesses in Morecambe and Lunesdale constituency to recycle waste in the last 12 months.

Joan Ruddock: I am not aware of any specific DEFRA initiatives in Morecambe and Lunesdale. However, the Government's Waste Strategy for England 2007 sets out the aim of encouraging local authorities to take on a wider role (in partnerships) to help local (particularly smaller) businesses reduce and recycle their waste with cost savings through more integrated management of different waste streams; and encouraging regional development agencies and other regional bodies to coordinate business waste and resource management in partnership with local authorities and third sector organisations. Small and medium sized enterprises can also get information on recycling from Government and Waste and Recycling Action Programme (WRAP) websites.
	DEFRA supports businesses to improve their efficient use of resources and to reduce their carbon emissions. This work forms an important part of the Government's drive towards a sustainable consumption and production economy. By cutting their waste and reducing material use, businesses of all sizes can boost profits and create jobs by reducing environmental impacts.
	The Business Resource Efficiency and Waste (BREW) Programme has delivered much of the above support to businesses. The programme has returned additional landfill tax to business over three years through resource efficiency and waste minimisation programmes, including recycling projects. Good results have been achieved from the intervention.

Waste Disposal: Fees and Charges

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which local authorities have expressed an interest in the pilot scheme for charging for refuse collection; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ruddock: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) on 10 January 2008,  Official Report, column 754W.

Wind Power

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to which wind farm proposals his Department lodged objection in each of the last three years; and for what reasons in each case.

Phil Woolas: For onshore windfarms under 50 megawatts, planning decisions are taken by local planning authorities. For windfarms above this threshold, decisions are taken by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform under the Electricity Act 1989. DEFRA is not consulted in either case but Natural England will have a chance to comment as a statutory consultee. Natural England and its founding bodies have objected to three onshore wind farms in three regions, and seven offshore wind farms adjacent to four regions.
	The Environment Agency is not a Statutory Consultee for windfarms, but is consulted on some windfarm developments for other statutory reasons. Between 2005 and 2007 (inclusive) the Environment Agency objected to a total of five planning applications for windfarms for reasons including flood risk, impact on biodiversity and groundwater. In all five cases after further work by the developer the Environment Agency were able to withdraw their objections.
	The Marine and Fisheries Agency (MFA) has a direct role in licensing offshore renewables under the Food and Environment Protection Act. An application could be rejected if assessment of the detailed environmental statement, submitted with the application, and other information showed that the proposed development would have a negative impact on the marine environment. To date, the MFA has not rejected an application for an offshore wind farm.

HEALTH

Accident and Emergency Departments: Admissions

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many admissions to accident and emergency departments there were for  (a) knife-related injuries and  (b) gunshot wounds in each of the last five years, broken down by primary care trust.

Ben Bradshaw: Information is collected on the number of finished admissions to hospital via accident and emergency. Tables have been placed in the Library which provide a breakdown of the data by primary care trusts (PCT). However, the tables only provide information on those PCTs where the number if admissions is more than five, due to the need to ensure that data remains anonymous.
	It is worth noting that finished admission episodes do not represent the number of patients admitted, as a patient may be admitted more than once.

Allergies: Medical Treatments

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will request the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence to undertake a review of allergy services and treatments.

Ann Keen: The Department and the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) are currently working together on some focused proposals for guidance relating to allergy. These proposals will be fed into the NICE topic selection process for consideration alongside other possible topics for NICE's work programme.

Blood Transfusion Services: Greater London

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff posts will be  (a) discontinued and  (b) moved to other sites from the Tooting Blood Processing and Testing centre as part of the planned consolidation of processing and testing centres following the Review of the National Blood Service Strategy.

Dawn Primarolo: The National Blood Service (NSB) is an operational division of NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT). NHSBT plans to move processing and testing services from the Tooting centre during 2009-10. All other services will remain at the centre, including the issue department (from which blood is issued), so that local hospitals will continue to receive blood as and when they need it.
	It is anticipated that these changes will result in the reduction of approximately 70 posts at the Tooting centre. NHSBT intend to deliver this reduction through non-compulsory means, such as voluntary redundancy, staff turnover and vacancy control. Staff affected by change will be given a range of support, including training and help with redeployment both within and outside NHSBT.

Breast Cancer: Essex

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the ability of breast cancer care facilities in South Essex to respond to changes in demand for services.

Ann Keen: This is a matter for the local national health service and the Essex Cancer Network. Primary care trusts (PCTs) are responsible within the NHS for commissioning and funding appropriate health services for their resident populations. The hon. Member may therefore wish to raise this issue with the chief executives of South East and South West Essex PCTs.

Breast Cancer: Essex

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 18 February 2008,  Official Report, column 281W, on breast cancer: Essex, if he will investigate the factors behind the recent increase in breast cancer diagnoses in Essex; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: This is a matter for the local national health service and the Essex and the North London cancer networks. Primary care trusts (PCTs) are responsible within the NHS to assess the needs and priorities of their local populations and commission health services accordingly. The hon. Member may therefore wish to raise this issue with the chief executives of the PCTs in Essex.

Breast Cancer: Health Services

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to  (a) promote for the early diagnosis and fast treatment of breast cancer and  (b) ensure adequacy of breast cancer services in each primary care trust area.

Ann Keen: The Cancer Reform Strategy, published last December, contains a number of initiatives under the National Awareness and early Diagnosis initiative to promote early diagnosis and improve the treatment of breast cancer. These include:
	patients with breast problems being referred to a cancer specialist within two weeks, whether or not cancer is suspected;
	the breast-screening programme being extended to women aged 47 to 73 years;
	working at a community level to promote better public awareness of cancer symptoms;
	carrying out a regular national survey of cancer symptom awareness to gain a better understanding of the delays in patient diagnosis; and
	carrying out a national audit in primary care of all patients diagnosed with cancer.
	To ensure equality of treatment of all cancers we are developing a national cancer equality initiative involving key stakeholders.
	More detailed information on these initiatives can be found at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_081006

Breast Cancer: Screening

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many breast cancer screenings there were in  (a) Tamworth and  (b) Staffordshire in each of the last five years.

Ben Bradshaw: The information requested is not available in the format requested. However, data for the national health service screening programme: coverage of women aged 53-64 for Staffordshire based primary care trusts (PCTs), at 31 March 2003 to 2007 has been set out in the following table.
	
		
			   2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			  North Staffordshire PCT( 1)  
			 Eligible population(2) 16,178 16,322 16,480 16,690 16,885 
			 Women screened (less than 3 years since last test) 12,291 12,902 12,971 13,404 13,654 
			 Coverage (less than 3 years since last test) (percentage) 76.0 79.0 78.7 80.3 80.9 
			   
			  South Staffordshire PCT( 1)  
			 Eligible population(2) 45,554 46,029 46,623 47,245 48,008 
			 Women screened (less than 3 years since last test) 37,594 35,493 36,721 36,857 39,364 
			 Coverage (less than 3 years since last test) (percentage) 82.5 77.1 78.8 78.0 82.0 
			 (1) Data prior to March 2007 have been mapped to the current PCT structure (2 )This is the number of women in the registered population less those recorded as ineligible  Notes: 1. The coverage of the breast screening programme is the proportion of women resident and eligible that have had a test with a recorded result at least once in the previous three years.  2. Coverage of the screening programme is currently best assessed using the 53-64 age group as women may be first called at any time between their 50 and 53 birthdays.  3. The breast screening programme covers women aged 50-64 but it was extended to invite women aged 65-70 in April 2001.  4. The last unit began inviting women aged 65-70 in April 2006 and full coverage should be achieved by 2008-09.  Source:  KC63, the Information Centre for health and social care.

Breast Cancer: Screening

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the national standards for the uptake of  (a) breast cancer and  (b) cervical cancer screening have been achieved in (i) Tamworth and (ii) the West Midlands.

Ann Keen: Uptake of cervical screening is not measured as women make their own appointments following receipt of a reminder letter. Therefore, to provide consistency all the figures given as follows are for coverage rather than uptake.
	The national standard for breast screening coverage is 70 per cent. and the national standard for cervical screening coverage is 80 per cent. The following tables give coverage figures for the West Midlands Strategic Health Authority (SHA) and South Staffordshire Primary Care Trust (PCT), which covers Tamworth, as at 31 March 2007 for breast and cervical screening.
	
		
			  NHS Breast screening programme: coverage of women aged 53-64 for specified organisations, at 31 March 2007 
			   Eligible population( 1)  Women screened (less than 3 years since last test)  Coverage (less than 3 years since last test) (%) 
			 West Midlands SHA 395,515 311,203 78.7 
			 South Staffordshire PCT(2) 16,885 13,654 80.9 
			 (1) This is the number of women in the registered population less those recorded as ineligible. (2) Data prior to March 2007 have been mapped to the current PCT structure.  Notes: 1. The coverage of the breast screening programme is the proportion of women resident and eligible that have had a test with a recorded result at least once in the previous three years. 2. Coverage of the screening programme is currently best assessed using the 53-64 age group as women may be first called at any time between their 50(th) and 53(rd) birthdays. 3. The breast screening programme covers women aged 50-64 but it was extended to invite women aged 65-70 in April 2001. 4. The last unit began inviting women aged 65-70 in April 2006 and full coverage should be achieved by 2008-09.  Source:  KC63, the Information Centre for health and social care. 
		
	
	
		
			  Cervical screening programme: coverage of the Target Age Group (25-64) for specified organisations, at 31 March 2007 
			   Eligible population ( 1)  Coverage (less than 3.5 yrs since last adequate test) (%)  Coverage (less than 5 years since last adequate test) (%) 
			 West Midlands SHA 1,350,787 71.2 79.3 
			 South Staffordshire PCT2 148,521 76.6 82.4 
			 (1)( )This is the number of women in the resident population less those with recall ceased for clinical reasons. (2 )Data prior to March 2007 have been mapped to the current PCT structure.  Note: National policy for the cervical screening programme is that eligible women aged 25 to 64 should be screened every three or five years (women aged 25 to 49 are screened every three years, those aged 50 to 64 every five years).  Source:  KC53 Parts A2 and A3, the Information Centre for health and social care.

Cancer: Screening

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps are being taken in Staffordshire to increase the uptake of screening for cancer.

Ann Keen: It is important to remember that no screening method is perfect and anyone invited to be screened for cancer must be aware of both the benefit and harm of being screened and be able to make an informed decision on whether to take part or not.
	However, we do recognise the important role that screening plays and, as set out in the "Cancer Reform Strategy", we are taking steps to build on and improve our existing screening services.
	This includes extending the age ranges for both breast and bowel screening, so that as many people as possible have the opportunity to be screened. We estimate that this will mean that an extra 3 million men and women will be screened over the next five years.
	In the Staffordshire area, it is the responsibility of the West Midlands Strategic Health Authority working in partnership with its primary care trusts (PCTs) including South Staffordshire PCT, local screening services and stakeholders to provide appropriate cancer screening services for their local populations. This includes promotion of local screening services.

Chronically Sick: Lancashire

David Borrow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in implementing the targets for the National Service Framework for Long-Term Conditions in South Ribble.

Ann Keen: It is for individual primary care trusts (PCTs), including Central Lancashire PCT, within the national health service to develop locally the levels of service described in the 'National Service Framework for Long-term (Neurological) Conditions' (the NSF). The NSF has a 10-year implementation programme from its publication in March 2005, with flexibility for organisations to set the pace of change locally to take account of differences in local priorities and needs. A copy of the NSF is available in the Library.
	Information on the progress that has been achieved locally with regard to the implementation of the targets set out in the NSF can be obtained direct from Central Lancashire PCT.

Dental Services

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to ensure that oral health is maintained in England.

Ben Bradshaw: Oral health in England has improved considerably during the last 30 years and the Government wish to see this improvement maintained.
	In 2003 the Government enacted new legislation which gives communities a real option of having their water fluoridated should this be needed to reduce oral health inequalities and improve oral health. A number of areas across the country are now actively considering the possibility of new water fluoridation schemes.
	Recognising that it may not be feasible to fluoridate all these high need areas, the Government developed the Brushing for Life programme. Brushing for Life involves health visitors giving families with young children in high need areas advice on preventing dental decay and a free pack containing a tube of fluoridated toothpaste, a toothbrush and a leaflet on oral hygiene. In many areas it is run in close association with Sure Start.
	In October 2005 the Government published Choosing Better Oral Health: an oral health plan for England which set out a strategy to reduce oral health inequalities. In September 2007 the Department published Delivering Better Oral Health: An evidence-based toolkit for prevention, which contains guidance to dentists and other dental care professionals on how to promote oral health and prevent dental disease and provides information to primary care trusts on what preventive care they should be commissioning.

Dental Services: Staffordshire

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the adequacy of NHS dentistry provision in  (a) Tamworth and  (b) Staffordshire;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to extend provision of NHS dentistry in  (a) Tamworth and  (b) Staffordshire.

Ann Keen: The numbers of dentists on open national health service contracts, in England, as at 30 June 2006, 30 September 2006, 31 December 2006, and 31 March 2007 are available in Table El of Annex 3 of the NHS Dental Statistics for England: 2006-07 report. This information is provided by primary care trust (PCT) and by strategic health authority (SHA).
	This report, published on 23 August 2007, is available in the Library and is available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dental0607
	The numbers published are headcounts and do not differentiate between full-time and part-time dentists, nor do they account for the fact that some dentists may do more NHS work than others.
	The methodology for reporting dental workforce information since the introduction of the new dental contractual arrangements, on 1 April 2006, is currently under review. The review is to ensure that the figures provide an appropriate measure of the workforce, given the way that the payments system is being used by PCTs. The workforce data within the report will therefore remain the latest available until this review is complete.
	The number of people seen by an NHS dentist, in England, are available in Table C1 of Annex 3 of the "NHS Dental Statistics for England: Quarter 2, 30 September 2007" report. Information is available for the 24-month periods ending 31 March 2006, 31 March 2007, 30 June 2007, and 30 September 2007. The information is provided by PCT and by SHA.
	Information on the number of courses of treatment performed, by treatment band, between 1 July 2007 and 30 September 2007, is available in Table Al of Annex 3 of the report. Information on the number of units of dental activity performed, by treatment band, for the same time period is available in Table B1. Information is provided by PCT and by SHA in both tables.
	This report, published on 28 February 2008, is available in the Library and is available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dentalstatsq20708
	Information by constituency under the new contractual arrangements is not available.
	Both reports have been published by The NHS Information Centre for health and social care.
	Increasing the number of patients seen within NHS dental services is now a formal priority in the NHS operating framework for 2008-09 and we have supported this with a very substantial 11 per cent. uplift in overall allocations to PCTs from 1 April 2008.

Departmental Data Protection

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether confidential or personal information has been compromised through the loss of property from his Department since 1997.

Ben Bradshaw: Except in exceptional cases, when it is in the public interest, it has been the policy of successive Governments not to comment on breaches of security. However, following the publication of the "Data Handling Procedures in Government: Interim Progress Report" on 17 December 2007,  Official Report, column 98WS, all Departments will cover information assurance issues in their annual reports. A copy of the Interim Progress Report is available in the Library.

Health Professions: Crimes of Violence

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many people were successfully prosecuted for physically abusing doctors and nurses in each of the last five years for which figures are available;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of nurses physically abused by patients in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: In April 2003 the National Health Service Security Management Service (NHS SMS) was created and assumed responsibility for tackling violence against NHS staff.
	Since 2003-04 the NHS SMS has collated data on the number of criminal sanctions following assaults against NHS staff in England. The numbers are in the following table. The numbers of prosecutions following assaults against doctors and nurses are included within these figures and are not available separately.
	
		
			   Criminal sanctions 
			 2003-04 51 
			 2004-05 759 
			 2005-06 850 
			 2006-07 869 
		
	
	Criminal sanctions include:
	cautions and conditional cautions;
	community rehabilitation or punishment orders;
	imprisonment (including suspended sentences);
	conditional discharges; and
	fines.
	Since 2004-05 the NHS SMS has collected data on the number of physical assaults reported against NHS staff in England for the categories shown in the following table. The numbers of nurses physically assaulted by patients are included within these figures and are not available separately.
	
		
			  Reported assaults by sector  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Ambulance service 1,333 1,104 1,006 
			 Acute/foundation trusts 10,758 11,100 9,685 
			 Primary care 5,192 5,145 3,445 
			 Mental health/learning disability 43,097 41,345 41,569 
			 Other (special health authority) 5 1 4 
			 Total 60,385 58,695 55,709

Health Services: Royal Household

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements funded by his Department are made for the provision of primary healthcare services to staff of the Royal Households.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 25 March 2008
	Staff of the royal households are entitled to register with a general practitioner practice for primary medical services just like any other United Kingdom resident.
	The Department is not aware of any special provision of primary health care service to staff of the royal households.

Health Services: Scanning

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will investigate the  (a) effects on health of services offered by the body-scanning industry and  (b) the appropriateness of the level of exposure to x-ray technology of those services; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what steps he plans to take following the Twelfth COMARE report on the use of computerised tomography (CT) to  (a) improve regulations of the private CT scan industry and  (b) investigate the advertising of private asymptomatic scans in relation to radioactive content; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 25  M arch 2008
	In 2005 the Department asked the Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment (COMARE) to include radiation protection aspects of medical practices in its work programme and as a first consideration to report on computerised tomography (CT) scanning of the asymptomatic individual. COMARE produced its 12th report entitled "The impact of personally initiated computer tomography scanning for the health assessment of asymptomatic individuals" in December 2007. The report has been placed in the Library and is also available on the COMARE website at:
	www.comare.org.uk/documents/COMARE12thReport.pdf.
	COMARE recommended that regulation of these commercial CT services should be reviewed. It also recommends that clients should be provided with comprehensive information regarding dose and risk of the CT scan, as well as rates of false negative and false positive findings. Among its detailed recommendations (nine in all) COMARE noted there is a regulatory requirement that all medical exposures using ionising radiation should be optimised, and that it is not possible to optimise exposure parameters for CT scans of the whole of the body. It has strongly recommended that services offering whole body CT scanning of asymptomatic individuals should discontinue. In addition, CT should not be used in assessment of spinal conditions, body fat and osteoporosis in asymptomatic individuals.
	The Department will be consulting widely on implementation of these recommendations.

Hospitals: Infectious Diseases

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people  (a) successfully and  (b) unsuccessfully claimed compensation in relation to a MRSA or clostridium difficile infection contracted in an NHS hospital by (i) themselves and (ii) a family member in each of the last five years.

Ann Keen: The information requested is shown in the table. The NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA) provided the information. The year given is the year in which the NHSLA was notified of the claim.
	
		
			  All closed claims where the injury is meticillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus or Clostridium difficile as at 31 December 2007 
			  NHSLA notification year  Status  Claimant is patient  Claimant is family member  Total 
			 2002-03 Closed—nil damages 9 6 15 
			  Settled—damages paid 18 6 24 
			  Total 27 12 39 
			  
			 2003-04 Closed—nil damages 23 11 34 
			  Settled—damages paid 21 7 28 
			  Total 44 18 62 
			  
			 2004-05 Closed—nil damages 38 9 47 
			  Settled—damages paid 12 3 15 
			  Total 50 12 62 
			  
			 2005-06 Closed—nil damages 41 9 50 
			  Settled—damages paid 9 3 12 
			  Total 50 12 62 
			  
			 2006-07 Closed—nil damages 16 10 26 
			  Settled—damages paid 7 5 12 
			  Total 23 15 38 
			  
			 Total Closed—nil damages 127 45 172 
			  Settled—damages paid 67 24 91 
			  Total 194 69 263

Hospitals: Telephones

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 7 February 2008,  Official Report, column 1462W, on hospital telephones, what estimate his Department has made of the average cost of an incoming telephone call to a child's bedside telephone; and what assessment he has made of the effect of telephone charges for incoming calls on parents' ability to contact their children while they are in hospital.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department recognises how stressful a child's hospital stay can be, which is why the average length of stay has been reduced to two days. The most important issue is to ensure that a child's stay in hospital is kept to a minimum, consistent with achieving a good recovery.
	The relevant national service framework for children states that children should have the comfort and reassurance provided by personal contact with close family members. Wherever practicable, hospitals make suitable provisions for parents to stay overnight with their children.
	Where this is not possible or practicable for parents to stay, mobile telephones may be used in certain areas of the hospital and bedside telephone systems allow children to maintain contact with friends and relatives.
	The cost of a telephone call to the bedside system in a children's ward varies, although, in most cases, it is 39 pence per minute off peak and 49 pence per minute peak rate.
	Other options exist for people not wishing to use the bedside telephone systems. These include the traditional payphones and hospital switchboard facilities and mobile telephones which ensure parents can be kept up to date on their child's progress.
	No assessment has been made of any effect of telephone charges for parents calling a child while in hospital.

Hospitals: Waiting Lists

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the median number of days, wait was for patients to receive hospital treatment following GP referral in England in each month since January 1997 based on hospital episodes statistics.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 25 March 2008
	By December 2008, patients who want it, and for whom it is clinically appropriate, can expect to start their treatment within a maximum of 18 weeks from referral.
	Referral to treatment (RTT) waits were not monitored centrally prior to January 2007. Measurement of referral to treatment waiting times for admitted patients commenced in January 2007 and for non-admitted patients from April 2007. The following table shows median referral to treatment waits for both admitted and non-admitted patients since January 2007 and April 2007 respectively.
	
		
			  Average (median) RTT times (commissioner based) for completed pathways 
			  Days 
			   Admitted patients  Non-admitted patients 
			 January 2007 136 — 
			 February 2007 135 — 
			 March 2007 132 — 
			 April 2007 122 57 
			 May 2007 117 58 
			 June 2007 115 54 
			 July 2007 116 52 
			 August 2007 109 51 
			 September 2007 107 53 
			 October 2007 102 47 
			 November 2007 94 43 
			 December 2007 79 49 
			  Source: Monthly RTT data collection

Hospitals: Waiting Lists

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were waiting more than six months for an NHS in-patient operation in each month since October 2005.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 25 March 2008
	The figures are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of patients waiting over six months (26 weeks) for inpatient admission 
			  Month ending  Provider based  Commissioner based 
			 2005   
			 October 25,679 24,847 
			 November 12,744 12,297 
			 December 1,021 108 
			
			 2006   
			 January 1,014 129 
			 February 954 165 
			 March 939 222 
			 April 928 162 
			 May 888 85 
			 June 884 67 
			 July 913 59 
			 August 834 122 
			 September 1,043 206 
			 October 1,089 353 
			 November 892 212 
			 December 756 138 
			
			 2007   
			 January 920 299 
			 February 785 378 
			 March 597 352 
			 April 694 426 
			 May 726 436 
			 June 529 312 
			 July 491 269 
			 August 524 250 
			 September 433 122 
			 October 323 18 
			 November 317 77 
			 December 395 106 
			
			 2008   
			 January 379 99 
			  Notes: 1. Provider based figures include patients treated in English hospitals but registered with general practitioners (GPs) outside England. 2. Commissioner based figures relate to patients registered with GPs in England, and include national health service funded patients treated outside England or in the independent sector.  Source: Monthly monitoring return

Locums: Vacancies

Howard Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of vacant locum appointment,  (a) training posts and  (b) services posts in secondary care trusts in England; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: Data regarding locums are not held centrally. Workforce planning is a matter for local determination based on the healthcare needs of the local population, and this would include the appointment and training of locums.

Medical Records: Data Protection

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the report of the independent evaluation of the security of the care records system.

Ben Bradshaw: NHS Connecting for Health insists that penetration tests are conducted on suppliers systems that connect to the national infrastructure. Where weaknesses are identified that would lead to a breach of confidentiality, integrity or availability they are corrected before the systems are brought into service. The outputs from these tests are commercially confidential between the supplier, the evaluator and NHS Connecting for Health. NHS Connecting for Health does, in line with best practice, review the security infrastructure of the National Programme for IT (NPfIT) to allow it to be maintained in line with new technologies and emerging threats. These reviews are conducted on an ongoing basis by both internal security specialists and independent evaluators. The recommendations from these reviews are not made public to avoid compromising security arrangements and to avoid potential criminal exploitation of the information.
	The NPfIT has adopted the highest levels of security. The NPfIT contracts require suppliers to comply with comprehensive and detailed security requirements in line with international standards (ISO-27001).

Medical Records: Data Protection

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether patient data contained in limited data sets of the secondary users service are fully anonymised.

Ben Bradshaw: Patient data contained in the limited, commissioning, data sets of the Secondary Uses Service are not fully anonymised, as the data are required for some core national health service business purposes.

Medical Records: Databases

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether the secondary users service will provide data on a commercial basis;
	(2)  what steps have been taken to prevent data made available to organisations through the secondary users service giving an unfair advantage in bidding procedures;
	(3)  whether patients will be able to opt out of having their data used in limited data sets in the secondary users service.

Ben Bradshaw: There are no plans for the secondary users service (SUS) to provide data on a commercial basis. The current proposals for pseudonymised data extracts from the SUS will be available for any supplier who agrees the terms and conditions. Information from the SUS is used for commissioning purposes, and it is therefore not expected that patients would be able to opt out.

Medical Records: Databases

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether each accession of the care records system will be monitored by a Caldicott Guardian.

Ben Bradshaw: NHS Connecting for Health cannot comment on the specific monitoring process that each Caldicott Guardian within the NHS will employ. However, alerts where there is any potential irregular access will be sent to Caldicott Guardians. There are audit trails of any access to the NHS Care Record Service records which can be made available to Caldicott Guardians.

Medical Records: Databases

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the mechanism for monitoring any illicit access to the care records system through the full audit trail will be.

Ben Bradshaw: There are a number of mechanisms available to monitor access to the NHS Care Record Service. These mechanisms include:
	network based intrusion detection and prevention;
	network based access controls, audit and alerting;
	user authentication recording and monitoring;
	system level security audit trails;
	application level security audit trails;
	security audit trail reports; and
	alerts to the Caldicott Guardian on specific accesses that may indicate unjustified access.
	These technology mechanisms are dependent on Caldicott Guardians and Information Governance staff carrying out their roles and responsibilities in conjunction with the policies and processes that national health service organisations are required to adhere to. NHS Connecting for Health has regular communications with the NHS to gain feedback and discuss the various mechanisms for monitoring access provided by the NHS Care Record Service.

Mental Health Services: Security

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which secure mental health units in England are categorised as  (a) low,  (b) medium and  (c) high security.

Ivan Lewis: Information about the applicable security rating for each low and medium secure psychiatric unit in England is not held by the Department. An unvalidated contact list for medium secure mental health units has been placed in the Library. Low secure mental health services are not consistently defined and there is no central list.
	There are three secure units which offer high security services: Ashworth, Broadmoor and Rampton hospitals.

NHS Questionnaires

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 7 March 2008,  Official Report, column 2860W, on NHS questionnaires, what the  (a) subject and  (b) cost was of each survey conducted by Ipsos MORI on behalf of the Department in 2007-08.

Ben Bradshaw: Ipsos MORI were contracted by the Department to carry out four surveys in 2007-08. These, and their associated costs, were:
	In 2007-08, the Department has budgeted a total of £10 million for both components of the 'General Practitioner (GP) Patient Survey—Access and Choice'.
	 Access
	The purpose of the Access survey is to measure and reward GPs based on the patients reported experience in accessing their GP in the preceding six month period; and
	 Choice
	The purpose of the Choice survey is to measure and reward GPs based on the proportion of patients whose referring GP discussed the choice's available when referring a patient to hospital.
	In 2007-08, the "What Matters to Staff" survey cost £65,800. The purpose of the survey was to identify the major factors pertaining to staff engagement and motivation to provide high quality care so as to establish a clear picture of practical ways senior managers in the national health service can improve how staff feel about their workplace, their colleagues and their roles. The results of the survey are also informing the next stage review.
	In 2007-08, the cost to date of the "National Patient Choice" survey is £367,043. The survey asks patients about their experience of choosing and arranging their hospital appointment.
	In 2007-08, the cost to date of the "18 Weeks Patient Experience Pilot" is £42,400. The aim of the pilot is to develop a possible survey technique to measure the experience of patients from their referral to treatment under the 18 week waiting initiative.

NHS: Finance

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons planned NHS spending over the years from 2008-09 to 2010-11 set out in the 2008 Budget report has been reduced from the planned spending set out in the 2007 pre-Budget report for those years.

Ben Bradshaw: Planned national health service spending over the years from 2008-09 to 2010-11 as set out in the 2008 Budget report has not been reduced from the planned spending set out in the 2007 pre-Budget report.
	The apparent difference in published figures was due to an error in the NHS revenue expenditure reported in the Budget Red Book. The correct revenue figures were presented to Parliament and published on the HM Treasury website on Friday 14 March 2008 at:
	www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/media/A/7/bud08_corrections.pdf.
	The correction makes it clear that the planned resource delivery expenditure limit (DEL) for NHS England is £97.1 billion in 2008-09, £103.6 billion in 2009-10 and £110.7 billion in 2010-11. Compared to the plans published at the Comprehensive Spending Review and payment by results, these updated figures reflect decisions to allocate more resources to social care within the Department's DEL, including as a result of transfer of functions from the NHS to social care, and minor revenue transfers to other Government departments. The resources involved are £166 million in 2008-09, £236 million in 2009-10 and £230 million in 2010-11.

NHS: Foreigners

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to reclaim monies owed by foreign national visitors to the UK for services delivered by the NHS; and what his most recent assessment is of the amount of outstanding payments during their visits owed to the NHS for such services at the latest date for which figures are available.

Dawn Primarolo: Under the national health service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 1989, as amended, it is for national health service trusts to determine which overseas visitors should pay for any hospital treatment provided to them and to make and recover charges. Where charges are found to apply they cannot be waived for any reason and trusts must take reasonable measures to recover any outstanding debts, which can include the use of debt collection agencies. The Department has issued comprehensive guidance to the NHS on this matter.
	Successive governments have not required the NHS to provide statistics on the number of foreign visitors seen, treated or charged under the provisions of the charging regulations nor any costs involved. Therefore, it is not possible to provide information on the value of outstanding payments owed to the NHS.

NHS: ICT

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the progress of  (a) iSoft and the Lorenzo system,  (b) Cerner and the Millennium system and  (c) IDX and the Carecast system against the (i) development and (ii) implementation timetable of each; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The development of Lorenzo software by iSOFT under a sub-contract to Computer Sciences Corporation has been regularly assessed by NHS Connecting for Health. It is understood that the development plans will enable the deployment of Release 1 of Lorenzo into early adopter sites in the North, Midlands and East Programme for information technology, formerly North West and West Midlands, North East and the East Midlands, in the summer. Release 2 of Lorenzo is due to be ready for deployment in the autumn.
	The development of the Cerner Millennium software by Fujitsu in the South of England, where eight hospitals are using the Release 0 version of the software is the subject of a current contract reset. The development of Cerner Millennium software by BT in London has seen the deployment of Release 0 into two hospitals since July 2007 and a further deployment is now due. The next Release LC1 is due to be implemented in the summer.
	Agreement on the software requirements and deployment plans became a responsibility of local national health service trusts from April 2007 to provide greater local ownership of the planning and deployment process. It is the responsibility of the local service providers to manage the delivery of the NHS Care Record Service to the contracted timetables and for the management of their sub-contractors and suppliers. NHS Connecting for Health routinely assesses progress against plans and manages the relationship and commercial arrangements with suppliers to ensure that NHS requirements are being met.

NHS: ICT

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what date deployment of 130 picture archiving and communications system was achieved; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The final picture archiving and communications system (PACS) deployment as part of the national programme for information technology took place on 10 December 2007. This deployment, involving Leeds teaching hospitals trust, marked the completion of a three year process that saw 127 trusts across England receive PACS.

NHS: ICT

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated of the impact on the NHS IT programme of the purchase of iSoft by IBA Healthcare, with particular reference to the (i) financial stability and (ii) cash conversion rate in recent healthcare projects of IBA Healthcare; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: It is the responsibility of the local service provider (LSP) with whom the national health service has entered into contract, to assure itself of the financial stability of its sub-contractors and suppliers, and to deliver the NHS Care Record Service solution in accordance with its contractual obligations. NHS Connecting for Health regularly monitors the performance of all information technology prime contractors, including LSPs and sub-contractors, for financial stability. Computer Science Corporation as the relevant LSP, has confirmed the financial stability of IBA Healthcare as its sub-contractor and that the purchase of iSoft by IBA has not adversely impacted on the delivery timescales for the Lorenzo solution to the NHS.

NHS: Internet

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many pages of content are available on the NHS Direct website; what the cost of operating the NHS Direct website was in 2007; and how many unique visitors to the NHS Direct website there were in each month between June 2007 and February 2008.

Ben Bradshaw: The NHS Direct website contains 14,567 unique pages of content. Additionally there are six health tools, 42 self-help guides, and 12 videos.
	The total cost of the team of dedicated content authors and editors that work on the NHS Direct website was £212,000 in 2007.
	The total number of unique visitors to the NHS Direct website for each month between June 2007 and February 2008 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Number of unique visitors 
			 June 2007 1,426,991 
			 July 2007 1,528,356 
			 August 2007 1,947,373 
			 September 2007 1,929,542 
			 October 2007 2,324,815 
			 November 2007 2,390,630 
			 December 2007 2,174,692 
			 January 2008 2,905,369 
			 February 2008 2,654,651 
		
	
	Over the next year NHS Direct will be working with colleagues at NHS Choices to provide a more integrated health information service for the public. The aim is to not only make online delivery more efficient and effective for government, but also, more importantly, improve the public's experience of health service provision via the internet, phone or television.

NHS: Negligence

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the 100 largest clinical negligence payments were for compensation claims against his Department by award or settlement in the last five years; and what the nature of the complaint was in each case.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 25 March 2008
	The information requested has been placed in the Library, the table shows the top 100 damages payments last five years. The NHS Litigation Authority supplied the information.
	The size of award for cases is the total amount paid on closed claims, or for the sum of the outstanding damages reserve and the damages already paid for open claims. Open claims are claims where settlement has been agreed but final payments have not yet been made.

Nurses: Training

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses in England have received training in  (a) asthma and  (b) respiratory diseases over the last five years, broken down by primary care trust.

Ann Keen: The information is not collected centrally.
	The annual national health service work force census does not separately identify the number of nurses who have received post-registration training from the rest of the nursing work force.
	The Government have supported the development of a range of specialist roles within nursing. However it is for local NHS organisations to commission training places and to deploy specialist nurses in accordance with their local needs.

Nursing and Midwifery Council: Disclosure of Information

Jim Devine: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what procedures exist for members of the Nursing and Midwifery Council to raise issues of concern  (a) internally,  (b) externally and  (c) with his Department; what guidance his Department provides on these procedures; under what circumstances his Department intervenes in such proceedings; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is an independent regulatory body and as such is responsible for its own internal management practices.
	Council members may raise any issue of concern with individuals or bodies they feel might be able to assist, providing they comply with any requirement of confidentiality and codes of conduct of the NMC or the Charity Commission that might apply.
	While the Department remains open for discussion with NMC Council members at all times, the Department does not have any specific powers in relation to complaints raised about the NMC or formal procedures for Council members to raise issues of concern.
	The Department provides no guidance to Council members on complaints procedures. It is a matter for the NMC, as an independent statutory body, to inform Council members of its own procedures.
	The Secretary of State has no powers to intervene in the internal management of the NMC. However, we have asked the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence to consider expediting its annual performance review, including addressing the central question of whether the NMC is fulfilling its statutory functions.

Obesity: Health Education

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the Answer of 29 February 2008,  Official Report, column 1979W, on obesity: health education, for what reasons part of the budget allocated to obesity campaigns was unspent in 2006-07.

Dawn Primarolo: The reason for the underspend in 2006-07 allocated to obesity campaigns was due to the Government reviewing their approach alongside the development of the Foresight report.

Occupational Health: Cardiovascular System

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to support employers in improving the cardiovascular health of their workforces.

Ivan Lewis: The Government recognise the importance of health promotion in the workplace, including cardiovascular health.
	Last year the Government asked Dame Carol Black, the National Director of Health and Work, to conduct a review of the health of the working age population.
	Dame Carol's report, "Working for a healthier tomorrow", was published on 17 March and contains specific recommendations for Government, health care professionals and employers in this area. There will be a cross Government response to the recommendations later in the year. A copy of this report is available in the Library.
	The Government have invested £800,000 in to the Well@Work programme, which aims to assess the effectiveness of health promotion interventions in the workplace, including physical activity. Physically active people have up to 50 per cent. reduced risk of major chronic disease such as coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer.

Organs: Donors

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many organ donors were registered in  (a) Tamworth and  (b) Staffordshire in each of the last five years.

Ann Keen: The numbers joining the NHS Organ Donor Register from the Tamworth and Staffordshire areas for the years 2003 to 2007 are shown in the following table:
	
		
			   Tamworth  Staffordshire( 1) 
			 2003 1,249 12,875 
			 2004 1,436 16,419 
			 2005 1,622 16,418 
			 2006 1,897 17,493 
			 2007 1,562 15,835 
			 Total 7,766 79,040 
			 (1 )Includes Stoke-on-Trent (unitary authority).  Source:  NHS Blood and Transplant.

Palliative Care: Cheshire

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what data are used by commissioners to determine accurately the need for specialist palliative and neurological care in Eddisbury.

Ivan Lewis: It is for individual primary care trusts (PCTs), including Western Cheshire PCT and the Central and Eastern Cheshire PCT, within the national health service to commission services for their resident population, including end of life care and neurological care, based on an assessment of local needs and priorities. Strategic health authorities are responsible for monitoring PCTs to ensure they are effective and efficient.
	The NHS operating framework for 2007-08 asked PCTs, working with local authorities, to undertake a baseline review of their end of life care services. These will allow local commissioners to assess current services, identify gaps and obtain a much clearer view of local need, which will inform local commissioning.
	Regarding neurological care, the information strategy published alongside the National Service Framework for Long-term (Neurological) Conditions outlines commissioners' information requirements and a series of local and national actions designed to meet those needs. A copy of the National Service Framework for Long-term (Neurological) Conditions is available in the Library.

Palliative Care: Cheshire

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's guidance on supportive and palliative care has been fully implemented in Eddisbury.

Ivan Lewis: It is for individual primary care trusts (PCTs), including Western Cheshire PCT and the Central and Eastern PCT, within the national health service to commission services for their resident population, including end of life care, based on assessments of local needs and priorities. The NHS has been required to set out action plans to achieve compliance with the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence recommendations on supportive and palliative care. Implementation is being monitored by strategic health authorities (SHAs).
	Information on the rate of progress locally can be obtained through the North West SHA.

Patients: Nutrition

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 5 March 2008,  Official Report, column 2527W, on patients: nutrition, what information is available on the cost of treating patients for nutritional deficiencies.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 12 March 2008,  Official Report, column 477W.

Polyclinics: Rural Areas

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Bromsgrove of 18 March 2008, to Question 194632, on polyclinics (rural areas), if he will write to primary care trust chief executives to clarify that there is no requirement for each primary care trust to have a polyclinic in each primary care trust area.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 25 March 2008
	The Department wrote to strategic health authority chief executives in December to confirm the core criteria that will underpin the development of new general practitioner-led health centres. This letter clarified that local commissioners should determine whether or not to go beyond these criteria to achieve more integrated service models such as polyclinics. A copy of the letter has been placed in the Library.

Pregnancy: Smoking

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of women have continued to smoke through pregnancy in each year since 1997 for which figures are available, broken down by  (a) region and  (b) primary care trust.

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is not available in the format requested.
	Information on the percentage of mothers nationally who smoked during pregnancy in 1995, 2000 and 2005 is available from the editions of the Infant Feeding Survey as follows.
	'Infant feeding 1995: A survey of infant feeding practices in the United Kingdom', Table 3.8 on page 37 which was published on 1 January 1997. This publication is available in the Library.
	'The Infant Feeding Survey 2005', Table 10.7 on page 355 which was published on 14 May 2007. This publication has been placed in the Library.
	Figures for regional and primary care trust are not available.

Prescriptions: ICT

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many and what proportion of prescriptions were issued in each month since the inception of the Electronic Prescriptions Service; and by how many and which  (a) GP sites and  (b) community pharmacies;
	(2)  how many and what proportion of prescriptions were transferred via the electronic prescriptions service between  (a) prescribers and dispensers and  (b) dispenser and the NHS Business Services Division in each month since the inception of the electronic prescriptions service;
	(3)  whether the electronic prescriptions service can process prescriptions other than FP10 prescriptions.

Ben Bradshaw: In Release 1 of the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS), an electronic message is transmitted to the EPS in parallel with a paper FP10 prescription form which is handed to the patient. This is necessary while a patient may take a prescription to a pharmacy in the transitional period that is not yet using the electronic prescription service. The current scope of Release 1 and Release 2 is prescriptions generated by general practitioner (GP) practices, either GPs, nurse or pharmacist prescribers, and dispensed in the community.
	Electronic prescriptions are not planned to be transmitted to the NHS Business Service Authority until Release 2 is in operational use.
	The following table provides the total number of electronic messages transmitted through the service between prescriber and dispensers since its inception in February 2005.
	
		
			  Month  Total number of EPS R1 prescription messaged generated by GPs  Total number of EPS R1 dispense notification messages sent by pharmacy 
			 February 2005 607 158 
			 March 2005 3,442 1,110 
			 April 2005 2,887 1,284 
			 May 2005 3,576 1,624 
			 June 2005 3,394 700 
			 July 2005 6,135 1,176 
			 August 2005 6,432 1,118 
			 September 2005 14,400 1,504 
			 October 2005 46,039 1,485 
			 November 2005 69,823 1,844 
			 December 2005 68,365 2,451 
			
			 January 2006 87,074 1,594 
			 February 2006 153,771 809 
			 March 2006 260,898 3,476 
			 April 2006 262,952 2,458 
			 May 2006 439,427 2,227 
			 June 2006 662,362 7,594 
			 July 2006 816,584 4,248 
			 August 2006 1,083,300 7,793 
			 September 2006 1,362,209 8,955 
			 October 2006 1,361,877 17,110 
			 November 2006 1,539,616 22,396 
			 December 2006 1,607,737 23,308 
			
			 January 2007 1,988,882 31,708 
			 February 2007 2,223,368 44,690 
			 March 2007 2,617,552 59,528 
			 April 2007 2,493,531 51,913 
			 May 2007 3,351,179 89,128 
			 June 2007 3,575,681 126,382 
			 July 2007 4,454,930 158,129 
			 August 2007 4,982,637 191,288 
			 September 2007 4,935,859 226,683 
			 October 2007 6,291,931 273,948 
			 November 2007 5,855,981 276,397 
			 December 2007 5,573,366 255,016 
			
			 January 2008 6,897,355 370,909 
			 February 2008 6,623,597 428,500 
			 1 to 17 March 2008 4,890,086 243,144 
			 Total   
			 17 March 2008 75,003,880 2,951,526

Prescriptions: ICT

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what proportion of repeat prescriptions were transferred via the electronic prescriptions service in each month since its inception.

Ben Bradshaw: Repeat electronic prescriptions will be transmitted through the electronic prescriptions service with the enablement of Release 2. At present, the system is unable to distinguish practice instigated repeat prescriptions compared to other prescriptions.

Prescriptions: ICT

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many and what percentage of GP sites were technically live on the Electronic Prescriptions Service system in each month since its inception; and how many and what percentage of GP sites were using the Electronic Prescriptions Service system in each month since its inception;
	(2)  how many and what percentage of community pharmacies were technically live on the electronic prescription service system in each month since its inception.

Ben Bradshaw: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Technical go live—general practitioner  Percentage based on 8,480 sites  Technical go live—pharmacy  Percentage based on 10,363 sites 
			 February 2005 2 0.0 1 0.0 
			 March 2005 2 0.0 1 0.0 
			 April 2005 2 0.0 1 0.0 
			 May 2005 17 0.2 2 0.0 
			 June 2005 61 0.7 3 0.0 
			 July 2005 118 1.4 3 0.0 
			 August 2005 167 2.0 5 0.0 
			 September 2005 179 2.1 7 0.1 
			 October 2005 198 2.3 7 0.1 
			 November 2005 468 5.5 10 0.1 
			 December 2005 610 7.2 11 0.1 
			 January 2006 650 7.7 12 0.1 
			 February 2006 739 8.7 17 0.2 
			 March 2006 998 11.8 219 2.1 
			 April 2006 1,083 12.8 243 2.3 
			 May 2006 1,226 14.5 1,404 13.5 
			 June 2006 1,408 16.6 1,425 13.8 
			 July 2006 1,536 18.1 1,493 14.4 
			 August 2006 1,864 22.0 1,809 17.5 
			 September 2006 1,987 23.4 2,195 21.2 
			 October 2006 2,185 25.8 3,395 32.8 
			 November 2006 2,289 27.0 3,544 34.2 
			 December 2006 2,335 27.5 3,626 35.0 
			 January 2007 2,375 28.0 3,950 38.1 
			 February 2007 2,402 28.3 4,132 39.9 
			 March 2007 2,815 33.2 4,340 41.9 
			 April 2007 3,885 45.8 4,587 44.3 
			 May 2007 5,023 59.2 4,933 47.6 
			 June 2007 5,924 69.9 5,527 53.3 
			 July 2007 5,980 70.5 6,036 58.2 
			 August 2007 6,028 71.1 6,605 63.7 
			 September 2007 6,177 72.8 6,971 67.3 
			 October 2007 6,462 76.2 7,326 70.7 
			 November 2007 6,552 77.3 7,652 73.8 
			 December 2007 6,612 78.0 7,833 75.6 
			 January 2008 6,649 78.4 8,052 77.7 
			 February 2008 6,664 78.6 8,154 78.7 
			 March 2008 6,667 78.6 8,159 78.7

Prescriptions: ICT

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many deployments of the general practitioner system for the electronic prescriptions service have been made, broken down by  (a) local service provider and  (b) practice.

Ben Bradshaw: Existing general practitioner (GP) system suppliers have developed systems that support release one of the electronic prescriptions service (EPS). The EPS has been deployed to 6,663 (79 per cent.) GP practices in England. Through the local service providers, a number of alternative GP systems have been provided to 699 GP practices.

Prescriptions: ICT

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what percentage of dispensing appliance contractors were technically live on the electronic prescriptions service system in each month since its inception; and how many and what percentage of dispensing appliance contractors were using the electronic prescriptions service system in each month since its inception.

Ben Bradshaw: There are no dispensing appliance contractors participating in release one of the electronic prescription system.

Prostate Cancer: Screening

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prostate screenings there were in  (a) Tamworth and  (b) Staffordshire in each of the last five years.

Ann Keen: The national health service, including the South Staffordshire Primary Care Trust, does not operate a prostate cancer screening programme. There is currently insufficient evidence from any country in the world to show that screening would reduce deaths from prostate cancer. The Government are committed to introducing a national screening programme for prostate cancer if and when screening and treatment techniques are sufficiently well developed. The United Kingdom National Screening Committee keeps screening for prostate cancer under review.
	The prostate cancer risk management programme was established in 2002 to ensure that men considering a prostate specific antigen (PSA) test are given information concerning the benefits, limitations and risks associated with having a test. Figures on the number of PSA tests taken as a result of the programme are not collected centrally.

Prostate Cancer: Screening

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what percentage of male prisoners eligible for prostate cancer screening have been screened in the last three years;
	(2)  what percentage of males eligible for prostate cancer screening have been screened in the last three years in England.

Ann Keen: The national health service does not operate a prostate cancer screening programme. There is currently insufficient evidence from any country in the world to show that screening would reduce deaths from prostate cancer. The Government are committed to introducing a national screening programme for prostate cancer if and when screening and treatment techniques are sufficiently well developed. The United Kingdom national screening committee keeps screening for prostate cancer under review.
	The prostate cancer risk management programme (PCRMP) was established in 2002 to ensure that men considering a prostate specific antigen (PSA) test are given information concerning the benefits, limitations and risks associated with having a test. Figures on the number of PSA tests taken as a result of the programme are not collected centrally.

Radiography: West Midlands

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what forecasts he has made for the future requirements for  (a) radiographers and  (b) radiologists in (i) Tamworth and (ii) the West Midlands.

Ann Keen: Local national health service organisations are best placed to assess the health needs of their local health community and plan the work force they need.
	The Department does collect the number of radiographers and radiologists working in the NHS. Data for the West Midlands and the NHS organisations which cover the Tamworth area have been set out in the following table, including figures for 1997 and the three most recent years for which data are available.
	
		
			  NHS hospital and community health services: Qualified diagnostic radiography staff and medical staff within the radiology group of specialties in England by strategic health authority (SHA) area and specified organisation as at 30 September each specified year 
			  Headcount 
			   1997  2004  2005  2006 
			 England 12,428 15,058 15,775 15,739 
			 Diagnostic Radiographers 10,364 12,147 12,700 12,535 
			 Radiologists 2,064 2,911 3,075 3,204 
			  of which: 
			 West Midlands SHA area 1,274 1,601 1,638 1,625 
			 Diagnostic Radiographers 1,082 1,312 1,345 1,324 
			 Radiologists 192 289 293 301 
			  of which: 
			 Mid Staffordshire General Hospitals NHS Trust 45 60 70 72 
			 Diagnostic Radiographers 40 54 65 65 
			 Radiologists 5 6 5 7 
			  
			 South Staffordshire Primary Care Trust (PCT)(1) n/a 13 13 13 
			 Diagnostic Radiographers n/a 13 13 13 
			 Radiologists 0 0 0 0 
			 n/a = Not applicable (1) In 2006 Burntwood, Lichfield and Tamworth PCT, Cannock Chase PCT, East Staffordshire PCT and South Western Staffordshire PCT merged to form the South Staffordshire PCT. Figures prior to 2006 are an aggregate of these four predecessor organisations.  Note: More accurate validation processes in 2006 have resulted in the identification and removal of 9,858 duplicate non-medical staff records out of the total work force figure of 1.3 million in 2006. Earlier years' figures could not be accurately validated in this way and so will be slightly inflated. The level of inflation in earlier years' figures is estimated to be less than 1 per cent. of total across all non-medical staff groups for headcount figures (and negligible for full time equivalents). This should be taken into consideration when analysing trends over time.  Sources: The Information Centre Non Medical Workforce Census. The Information Centre for health and social care Medical and Dental Workforce Census.

Radiotherapy

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 3 March 2008,  Official Report, columns 2105-6W, on radiotherapy, how many patients had  (a) part funded and  (b) fully funded proton therapy abroad; in which countries patients have received proton therapy treatment; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: Information on the number of patients who have funded or part funded proton beam therapy abroad is not collected centrally.
	Patients have been referred to Switzerland for proton beam therapy.
	From April 2008 proton therapy for suitable cancers other than eye cancers, which can be treated in the United Kingdom, will be nationally commissioned from overseas. In the longer term, the Department will consider options for providing modern proton therapy services in this country.

Secure Psychiatric Units: Capacity

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the maximum capacity of provision for  (a) NHS and  (b) independent sector secure mental healthcare places has been, broken down by establishment, in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The information is not available in the form requested. The available data are collected on the numbers of mental health and learning disability secure unit beds in national health service units, and do not include independent sector beds. The data are not broken down by establishment.
	Data on the average daily number of mental health secure unit beds, and learning disability secure unit beds in NHS units in England over the last ten years are set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Average daily number of mental health and learning disability secure unit beds in NHS units 
			   1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02 
			 Available mental illness 1,921 1,747 1,882 1,952 1,848 
			 Occupancy mental illness 1,566 1,578 1,750 1,792 1,699 
			 Available learning disability 439 422 404 431 407 
			 Occupancy learning disability 404 326 359 408 381 
		
	
	
		
			  Average daily number of mental health and learning disability secure unit beds in NHS units 
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Available mental illness 2,064 2,569 2,696 2,807 2,993 
			 Occupancy mental illness 1,867 2,378 2,472 2,545 2,722 
			 Available learning disability 508 514 503 526 516 
			 Occupancy learning disability 482 470 484 502 489 
			 (1) The definitions of mental health and learning disability secure unit beds, for the purposes of the KH03 annual beds collection, are: Mental illness—Other ages, secure unit an AGE GROUP INTENDED of National Code 8 'Any age', a BROAD PATIENT GROUP CODE of National Code 5 'Patients with mental illness' and a CLINICAL CARE INTENSITY of National Code 51 'for intensive care: specially designated ward for patients needing containment and more intensive management This is not to be confused with intensive nursing where a patient may require one to one nursing while on a standard ward'. Learning disabilities—Other ages, secure unit an AGE GROUP INTENDED of National Code 8 'Any age', a BROAD PATIENT GROUP CODE of National Code 6 'Patients with learning difficulties' and a CLINICAL CARE INTENSITY of National Code 61 'designated or interim secure unit'.  Source: Department of Health Dataset KH03(1). 
		
	
	These figures do not represent the full level of secure services available to the NHS. "Low secure" mental health services are not consistently defined and may well fall outside the definitions used for this data collection. This means that the figures above mainly show the numbers in high and medium secure mental health services in NHS units. These figures also only show NHS beds and not those commissioned by the NHS and provided by independent sector providers.

Secure Psychiatric Units: Finance

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent on  (a) NHS and  (b) independent sector secure mental healthcare places for offenders in each of the last 10 years, broken down by (i) primary care trust and (ii) local health board; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The information is not available in the form requested. Information on spending on low and medium secure services is not collected in this format, and is not broken down by establishment.
	Information is available on the total spend on high secure services for the last five years, based on service level agreements between the high security hospitals and commissioners(1). This is set out in the following table. The spending figures include offenders and non-offenders.
	(1) The figures exclude Dangerous and Serious Personality Disorder programme patients.
	
		
			   Total spend on high secure services in £000 
			 2002-03 178,967 
			 2003-04 190,854 
			 2004-05 201,574 
			 2005-06 212,489 
			 2006-07 218,817

Seroxat

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK) use in the UK of negative results from Seroxat trials; and who the  (a) UK and  (b) non-UK based professional registrants were who had (i) managerial and (ii) clinical responsibility for GSK's nine seroxat trials involving children between 1994 and 2002.

Dawn Primarolo: A detailed criminal investigation was undertaken by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), into whether GlaxoSmithKline withheld information from paediatric clinical trials of their drug Seroxat. The report on the outcome of the investigation has been published and is available in the Library and also on the MHRA website at:
	www.mhra.gov.uk/NewsCentre/Pressreleases/CON014152
	The MHRA does not normally release personal data, supplied in an expectation of confidence, in accordance with Sections 38 and 40 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Seroxat: Children

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 8 March 2008,  Official Report, column 121WS, on GlaxoSmithKline (MHRA investigation), what discussions he has had with the Chief Executive of the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Authority on its investigation of the trials of Seroxat involving children between 1994 and 2002.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 25 March 2008
	 Departmental Ministers were briefed on a regular basis on the progress of the investigation into the compliance of GlaxoSmithKline with relevant legislation, and on the conclusion of the investigation, in advance of the written ministerial statement.

Suicide: Young People

Hywel Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what recent discussions he has had with appropriate agencies on suicides amongst young people; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  whether the subject of assistance to suicide prevention amongst young people was on the agenda of recent Ministerial level meetings with the Welsh Assembly Government; whether any cross-border services are envisaged; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: There have been no discussions with appropriate agencies nor have discussions taken place at ministerial level with the Welsh Assembly Government about suicides among young people. Officials responsible for implementing the National Suicide Prevention Strategy for England continue to engage with relevant agencies and organisations in considering appropriate measures to take to reduce the risk of suicide among the general population, including young people. In addition, the Suicide Prevention Strategy Advisory Group, chaired by Professor Louis Appleby, meets twice yearly and provides leadership, expert advice and guidance on implementation of the suicide prevention strategy. Membership of this group includes researchers and representatives of Samaritans and PAPYRUS, an organisation committed to the prevention of young suicide.
	In addition, the five nations, representing England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and Republic of Ireland, have established a suicide prevention strategies coordinating group to share information, research and evidence on suicide prevention actions among the five nations. This group meets on a regular basis.

West Hertfordshire NHS Acute Trust: Manpower

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many full-time equivalent  (a) medical consultants,  (b) other medical staff,  (c) nurses,  (d) other professional healthcare staff,  (e) administrative and clerical staff and  (f) auxiliary staff were employed by West Herts NHS Acute Trust in each year since 1996-97.

Ann Keen: The information is set out in the following table. The most recent year for which data are available is 2006.
	
		
			  The numbers of full-time equivalent national health service staff in the West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust( 1)  as at 30 September in each year since 1996 
			   1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 Hospital and Community Health Services(HCHS) medical consultants 137 153 146 145 143 161 159 156 161 153 152 
			 HCHS dental consultants 2 4 3 2 2 2 3 2 2 2 3 
			 Other HCHS medical staff 254 291 269 276 264 267 271 267 332 320 344 
			 Other HCHS dental staff 5 6 7 8 6 1 1 1 2 5 5 
			 Qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff 1,362 1,326 1,177 1,184 1,091 1,259 1,176 1,301 1,321 1,208 1,237 
			 Qualified scientific, therapeutic and technical staff 498 493 483 483 462 475 495 467 483 384 382 
			 Support to clinical staff 1,016 855 879 790 740 900 919 1,132 1,171 1,050 960 
			 NHS infrastructure support 677 512 525 359 366 481 539 574 583 583 518 
			 Other staff or those with unknown classification 8 2 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 (1 )In 2000, Mount Vernon and Watford Hospitals and St. Albans and Hemel Hempstead NHS Trusts merged to form the West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trusts. Figures prior to 2000 are an aggregate of these two predecessor organisations.  Note: Full-time equivalent figures have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Data for 2007 are released on 14 March.  Sources: The Information Centre for health and social care Medical and Dental Workforce Census, The Information Centre for health and social care Non-Medical Workforce Census

JUSTICE

Antisocial Behaviour: Fixed Penalties

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent estimate he has made of the re-offending rate of recipients of penalty notices for disorder in the latest period for which figures are available.

David Hanson: Re-offending rates for recipients of penalty notices for disorder are not currently measured. Work is currently under way to assess the feasibility of reporting re-offending rates for recipients of penalty notices for disorder. The feasibility study is due to be complete in the summer.
	Adult re-offending includes re-offending for offenders discharged from custody or commencing community sentences, while juvenile re-offending also includes offenders who received reprimands, final warnings and other court convictions.

Burglary: Sentencing

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what changes were made to the sentencing guidelines for  (a) magistrates and  (b) Crown courts on burglary offences in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: Magistrates Courts Sentencing Guidelines, produced by the Magistrates Association with the support of the Lord Chancellor, cover the main offences dealt with in those courts, including burglary. The guidelines were revised in September 2000 and January 2004 and are currently under review by the Sentencing Guidelines Council.
	The Court of Appeal issued guidance on domestic burglary in the case of R  v. McInerney and Keating (2003) 2 Cr App R (S) 39, which incorporated and added to the guidance in R  v. Brewster (1998) 1 Cr App R (S) 181. On 10 March, the Sentencing Guidelines Council issued a draft consultation guideline on theft and burglary (non-dwelling) and will issue a definitive guideline in due course. In December 2004, the Council issued guidelines on seriousness, "Overarching principles: seriousness, and Reduction in sentence for a guilty plea", which apply in all cases. The latter guideline was revised in July 2007.

Courts: Security

James Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what minimum level of security staffing is required at  (a) magistrates' courts and  (b) other courts; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: There is no minimum level of security staffing required at any of the courts within HMCS. Security in courts is provided by designated court security officers (CSOs) appointed by the Lord Chancellor and the number of CSOs is arrived at by assessing the security needs of each court, taking into account the business of that court, existing vulnerabilities and the history of incidents.

Criminal Justice Information Technology

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what projects the criminal justice information technology unit has managed which began after 2002; what the  (a) originally estimated and  (b) actual costs were for each project; and what the (i) estimated and (ii) actual completion dates were for each project.

Maria Eagle: CJIT managed two projects: Secure eMail and the CJS Exchange.
	In the business case issued in March 2003, Secure eMail was estimated to cost £23 million (including operating costs to the end of 2007-08) and be fully deployed by April 2004. Secure eMail was delivered in May 2004 and to date has cost £22 million.
	In the business case issued in March 2004, CJS Exchange was estimated to cost £175 million to the end of 2007-08 (including operating costs) and to have completed the roll-out of the scope (as defined at that time) by March 2006. To date, CJS Exchange has cost £162 million. Deployment of the remaining elements from the original scope will be completed by December 2008 at an additional cost of £5 million.
	The CJS Exchange is an asset that is designed to be utilised, developed and expanded by Criminal Justice Organisations who want to join their systems with other CJS systems or who want to provide access to information within their systems to staff across the wider CJS. The scope of the programme has therefore changed since its inception in order to meet new demands and changing requirements.

Criminal Justice Information Technology: Manpower

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people work in the criminal justice information technology unit; and what the unit's budget is for 2007-08.

Maria Eagle: As of April 2007, the number of staff working at Criminal Justice IT was:
	
		
			   Staff on headcount  Service contract staff 
			 Portfolio and Director's Office 15 3 
			 Programme Unit 23 46 
			 Technology Unit 18 12 
			 Service Delivery 11 1 
			 Total 67 62 
		
	
	The staff on Service Contract included resources working on CJS IT ring fence funded projects. This figure fluctuated monthly, dependent on business demand, and significantly reduced in number over 2007-08.
	The CJIT 2007-08 financial delegation from the CJS IT ring fence budget was £72.51 million.

Driving Under Influence: South Yorkshire

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) arrests,  (b) prosecutions and  (c) convictions for drink-driving there were in (i) Barnsley East and Mexborough constituency, (ii) Barnsley Metropolitan Borough and (iii) Doncaster Metropolitan Borough in each year since 2002.

Maria Eagle: The arrests collection held by my Department covers persons arrested for recorded crime (notifiable offences), by main offence group (e.g. violence against the person, sexual offences, robbery, burglary, theft and handling stolen goods, etc) and police force area within England and Wales. Information on summary motoring offences including those of driving etc after consuming alcohol or taking drugs are non-notifiable and as a result are not covered by the collection.
	Available information held on prosecutions and findings of guilt for offences of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs for the years 2002 to 2005 (latest available) is provided in the following table. 2006 data will be available later this year. The data provided cover both drink and drugs offences combined, as volumes of prosecutions and convictions for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs cannot be accurately established.
	Information is available at police force area level only.
	
		
			  Proceedings at magistrates courts and findings of guilt at all courts for offences of driving etc. after consuming alcohol or taking drugs( 1) , within South Yorkshire police force area, 2002-05 
			  Number of offences 
			   Proceedings  Findings of guilt 
			 2002 2,165 1,945 
			 2003 2,397 2,089 
			 2004 2,474 2,224 
			 2005 2,430 2,220 
			 (1) Data provided cover summary offences of driving etc. after consuming alcohol or taking drugs (which cannot be reliably distinguished separately).  Notes: 1. It is known that for some police force areas, the reporting of court proceedings in particular those relating to summary motoring offences, may be less than complete. 2. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Drugs: Sentencing

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what changes were made to the sentencing guidelines for  (a) magistrates and  (b) Crown courts on drug offences in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: Magistrates Courts Sentencing Guidelines, produced by the Magistrates Association with the support of the Lord Chancellor, cover the main offences dealt with in those courts, including drugs offences. The guidelines were revised in September 2000 and January 2004 and are currently under review by the Sentencing Guidelines Council.
	The Court of Appeal provided guidelines on: supply and dealing in Class A drugs in the cases of R  v. Diahit (1999) 2 Cr App R (S) 142, R  v. Twisse (2001) 2 Cr App R (S) 37, and R  v. Afonso and others (2004) EWCA Crim 2342; the importation of controlled drugs in the case of R  v. Mashootlahi (2001) 1 Cr App R (S) 330; Class B drugs—amphetamine in the case of R  v. Wijs and others (1999) 1 Cr App R (S) 181; cannabis (prior to its classification as a Class C drug) in the case of R  v. Ronchetti (1998) 2 Cr App R (S) 100; possession with intent to supply—LSD in the case of R  v. Hurley (1998) 1 Cr App R (S) 29; purity analysis of Class A drugs in the case of R  v. Morris (2001) 1 Cr App R (S) 297; and cultivating cannabis in the case of R  v. Herridge (2005) EWCA Crim 1410. In December 2004, the Council issued guidelines on seriousness, "Overarching principles: seriousness, and Reduction in sentence for a guilty plea", which apply in all cases. The latter guideline was revised in July 2007. The Sentencing Advisory Panel is currently undertaking research and background work on drug offences, which is the first stage in the process of producing sentencing guidelines.

Email

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) webmail users and  (b) server users in the criminal justice system use Secure eMail; and how many emails were sent across the system in each month since February 2004.

Maria Eagle: The information requested is as follows.
	 Web mail users
	There are 5,070 web mail users (as of February 2008).
	 Server users
	There are 9,731 server users known to the CJSM Directory (as of February 2008).
	 Emails sent in each month since February 2004
	Figures for the number of messages sent across the service since February 2004 are not available. However, the figures from November 2004 to February 2008 are as follows:
	
		
			   2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 January — 34,441 133,308 264,557 466,102 
			 February — 27,972 194,532 273,838 488,577 
			 March — 31,806 229,088 365,198 — 
			 April — 38,130 189,311 285,628 — 
			 May — 34,115 223,441 315,779 — 
			 June — 48,184 246,448 350,629 — 
			 July — 30,404 261,010 353,964 — 
			 August — 44,042 243,846 374,764 — 
			 September — 60,898 251,408 357,493 — 
			 October — 78,524 255,386 424,841 — 
			 November 20,100 115,529 262,626 431,158 — 
			 December 21,452 118,465 218,003 371,335 — 
		
	
	The number of emails sent across the service has steadily increased over the period since 2004. The same is true for the web mail users and server users.

Judges: Transport

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much was spent between April and November 2007 on vehicles contracted by the Government Car and Despatch Agency to transfer high court judges between their official residences and the courts.

Jack Straw: The amount spent between April and November 2007 on vehicles contracted by the Government Car and Despatch Agency for use in the transfer of high court judges between their official residences and the courts was £289,000. This figure contains a small element of costs associated with other official visits related to the high court judges' time out on circuit, including inspection visits to prisons, sites of crime and some official public functions and not just those between the lodgings and courts.

Legal Aid: Northern Ireland

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he plans to take to increase access to criminal legal aid in Northern Ireland.

David Hanson: In Northern Ireland the judiciary are responsible for determining applications for criminal legal aid applying the statutory tests of whether the applicant has insufficient means and the interests of justice.
	In 2005, the most recent year for which statistics are available, 97 per cent. of defendants who applied were granted criminal legal aid. There is therefore no evidence to suggest that there is a need to increase access to criminal legal aid.

Legal Services Commission: Recovery of Costs

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much the Legal Services Commission received by way of  (a) recovered costs and  (b) interest on statutory charges in each year since 1997.

Maria Eagle: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Guildford (Anne Milton) on 25 January 2008,  Official Report, column 2206W.

National Offender Management Service: Expenditure

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost of the National Offender Management Service was in 2006-07.

David Hanson: The cost of the National Offender Management Service in 2006-07 was £4.3 billion resource and £0.4 billion capital expenditure. This includes expenditure on public and private prisons, 42 probation boards and the Youth Justice Board, as well as central policy and administrative functions. The capital expenditure was mainly on the prisons estate.

National Offender Management Service: Probation

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many offenders are directly managed or supervised by staff of the National Offender Management Service.

David Hanson: At 30 June 2007 there were a total of 254,762 offenders in prison or being supervised in the community by the Probation Service in England and Wales. The number of offenders supervised by the Probation Service in the community (either under court orders or under post release licence) was 175,028. The number detained in prison was 79,734.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

National Offender Management Service: Standards

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of the National Offender Management Service management board received box A markings in their latest performance and development reviews; who was responsible for the award of these markings; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: The members of the National Offender Management Service management board are all Senior Civil Servants (SCS). As such, they do not receive box markings. Under current arrangements, members of the SCS are assessed by their line manager and a judgment is made of how well individuals have performed relative to their peers. All SCS are ranked in tranches. Three members of the NOMS management board received the highest tranche marking in the latest performance and development review.

Prison Service: Public Appointments

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recruitment process was used to fill the post of Deputy Director General of HM Prison Service following the retirement of Peter Atherton; where the post was advertised; how many applications were received; what selection criteria were used; and who comprised the selection panel.

Maria Eagle: The role of Deputy to the Director General of the Prison Service was re-introduced following the publication of the Prison Service Review in October 1997. The functions of this role are carried out by an existing member of the Prison Service Management Board. It is not, therefore, a separately advertised post.

Prisoners

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners were held in prisons over 50 miles from their homes in the last 12 months.

Jack Straw: As of September 2007, the latest date for which information is available, there were approximately 33,150 prisoners held over 50 miles from their home address.
	Where no home address is listed for a prisoner the committal court has been used as a proxy address.
	In the previous five years the level of prisoners in this circumstance is in the following table.
	
		
			   Snapshot of prisoners held over 50 miles from their homes (to neares t  100) 
			 2002 25,700 
			 2003 26,800 
			 2004 27,300 
			 2005 27,600 
			 2006 27,800 
		
	
	The increase by September 2007 reflects increased pressure of numbers on the prison estate. Everyone involved is working hard to bring the level down.

Prisoners Transfers

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how much his Department spent on prison transfers in each of the last 10 financial years; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many prisoners have been transferred between prisons during their sentence since April 2007; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: Details of expenditure on inter-prison transfer services by the inter-prison transfer contractor for each financial year since 2001-02 are set out in the following table. Data are not available for financial years 1997-98 to 2000-01.
	
		
			  Financial year  Cost (£) 
			 2001-02 5,390,061 
			 2002-03 5,390,061 
			 2003-04 5,147,078 
			 2004-05 5,798,057 
			 2005-06 5,786,057 
			 2006-07 7,906,739 
			 2007-08 (to February) 7,006,886 
		
	
	The following table shows the number of inter-prison transfers under the inter-prison transfer contract in each month since April 2007. A breakdown of the number of transfers of sentenced and unsentenced prisoners under the inter-prison transfer contract is not held separately.
	
		
			   Inter-prison Transfers 
			 April 2007 5,302 
			 May 2007 6,183 
			 June 2007 6,028 
			 July 2007 7,253 
			 August 2007 6,341 
			 September 2007 6,185 
			 October 2007 6,504 
			 November 2007 6,428 
			 December 2007 5,297 
			 January 2008 6,838 
			 February 2008 6,256 
		
	
	In addition to this there are prisoner transfers that are managed locally. These are not recorded centrally.

Prisoners: Compensation

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many claims for compensation were made by inmates of each  (a) prison and  (b) young offenders institution in each year between 2000 and 2007; and how much was paid in compensation.

Jack Straw: The following table details the number of compensation claims received from prisoners over the last three financial years and the total amount paid in compensation, whether by way of out of court settlement or by a court award. The figures exclude private establishments. Compensation figures prior to 2004-05 were not collated centrally and those for 2007-08 have not been finalised.
	The claims received each year may not be the same as those that are settled in the same period, as litigation often takes several years to resolve.
	
		
			  Prisoner claims—excluding private establishments and judicial reviews 
			   Prisoner compensation claims received  Total compensation paid(£) 
			  Prison  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Acklington 8 7 10 0 8,130 9,057 
			 Albany 7 46 69 3,500 8,626 1,400 
			 Ashwell 5 5 5 14,500 0 727 
			 Askham Grange 0 2 0 0 0 0 
			 Bedford 5 3 10 0 2,300 17,114 
			 Belmarsh 11 19 11 0 20,000 28,140 
			 Birmingham 13 11 22 11,000 6,500 23,713 
			 Blakenhurst 22 10 16 4,659 2,500 32,956 
			 Blantyre House 1 0 0 0 250 0 
			 Blundeston 1 3 3 800 0 3,907 
			 Brinsford 1 0 1 0 0 0 
			 Bristol 13 10 7 4,545 13,520 115,400 
			 Brixton 14 9 13 23,433 12,360 20,000 
			 Brockhill 0 1 2 0 0 6,000 
			 Buckley Hall 1 3 6 375 0 0 
			 Bullingdon 17 10 12 18,850 500 8,392 
			 Bullwood Hall 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Camp Hill 2 4 4 750 150 8,500 
			 Canterbury 0 1 0 1,100 0 0 
			 Cardiff 8 4 6 0 3,000 46,614 
			 Castington 4 1 1 3,000 700 1,350 
			 Channings Wood 8 2 7 1,350 0 2,750 
			 Chelmsford 6 2 9 1,145,005 0 12,421 
			 Coldingley 3 2 0 5,000 0 0 
			 Cookham Wood 1 1 1 0 0 0 
			 Danesbury Approved School 0 0 1 0 0 0 
			 Dartmoor 3 7 6 0 10,000 4,757 
			 Deerbolt 3 3 2 300 500 2,500 
			 Dorchester 3 1 1 825 20,000 3,807 
			 Dover 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Downview 0 2 0 1,800 1,000 0 
			 Drake Hall 1 1 2 500 7,000 8,750 
			 Durham 17 12 14 0 6,603 29,921 
			 East Sutton Park 1 0 2 9,000 0 0 
			 Eastwood Park 2 1 3 0 340,750 0 
			 Edmunds Hill 0 2 2 0 0 6,750 
			 Elmley 17 16 7 58,275 13,650 47,345 
			 Erlestoke 7 4 4 0 0 5,500 
			 Everthorpe 4 2 13 0 1,800 0 
			 Exeter 15 6 5 0 5,000 37,014 
			 Featherstone 3 6 4 0 0 0 
			 Feltham 4 5 1 900 100 12,600 
			 Ford 9 13 9 6,250 1,500 1,639 
			 Foston Hall 2 0 5 0 0 0 
			 Frankland 19 33 19 0 1,695 12,579 
			 Full Sutton 17 29 22 0 1,383 10,232 
			 Garth 8 14 10 0 30,250 7,657 
			 Gartree 5 9 8 200 375 1,200 
			 Glen Parva 1 3 1 97,500 0 0 
			 Gloucester 4 1 5 0 6,600 1,500 
			 Grendon/Spring Hill 3 4 6 600 7,894 1,000 
			 Guys Marsh 5 5 4 0 200 5,660 
			 Haverigg 4 4 12 2,000 0 8,400 
			 He well Grange 3 2 2 0 0 1,000 
			 High Down 8 6 10 4,300 400 0 
			 Highpoint 6 5 6 7,000 850 14,727 
			 Hindley 2 4 1 64,250 0 0 
			 Hollesley Bay 2 2 3 5,000 0 24,250 
			 Holloway 2 3 7 150 5,000 1,500 
			 Holme House 13 5 7 14,935 150 11,421 
			 Hull 19 11 12 8,509 2,800 46,051 
			 Huntercombe 2 0 0 1,500 0 0 
			 Kingston 2 2 3 0 2,225 0 
			 Kirkham 8 17 15 5,850 5,000 27,550 
			 Kirklevington Grange 1 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Lancaster 11 4 4 0 625 6,557 
			 Lancaster Farms 3 4 6 170 0 0 
			 Latchmere House 1 1 2 0 2,500 0 
			 Leeds 28 37 29 96,527 14,700 149,556 
			 Leicester 16 3 6 0 1,750 17,087 
			 Lewes 8 13 12 1,000 16,060 13,056 
			 Leyhill 6 3 0 9,926 16,750 3,000 
			 Lincoln 10 22 7 14,450 1,900 10,149 
			 Lindholme 13 29 9 4,700 10,500 6,830 
			 Littlehey 2 21 11 40 10,920 0 
			 Liverpool 40 16 35 41,000 2,808,025 44,314 
			 Long Lartin 35 30 30 25 6,898 11,317 
			 Low Newton 3 4 2 0 2,000 12,614 
			 Maidstone 8 14 9 12,150 40 5,177 
			 Manchester 20 13 20 0 260,000 61,464 
			 Medomsley 0 6 1 0 0 0 
			 Moorland 7 10 12 0 3,500 6,157 
			 Morton Hall 0 3 3 0 0 0 
			 New Hall 4 2 6 0 2,925 15,228 
			 North Sea Camp 6 5 2 5,750 0 1,750 
			 Northallerton 2 1 1 0 575,000 7,614 
			 Northendon Road Approved School 0 0 1 0 0 0 
			 Norwich 14 3 8 1,650 10,000 23,028 
			 Nottingham 7 13 9 0 652 33,771 
			 Onley 2 2 2 2,000 0 70,000 
			 Parkhurst 18 15 27 405 350 3,725 
			 Pentonville 14 14 24 7,000 6,595 14,745 
			 Portland 3 4 2 0 0 31,250 
			 Preston 16 10 12 3,500 8,300 12,986 
			 Ranby 10 10 11 0 200 1,300 
			 Reading 0 1 0 0 0 2,100 
			 Risley 32 9 6 325 1,350 14,064 
			 Rochester 1 3 0 0 3,000 2,250 
			 Send 3 1 2 0 850 2,200 
			 Shepton Mallet 0 2 5 3,825 0 1,425 
			 Shrewsbury 13 2 3 1,715 0 38,071 
			 Stafford 4 1 8 1,350 0 8,714 
			 Standford Hill 7 5 6 10,000 8,300 18,400 
			 Stocken 6 8 3 17,000 0 1,180 
			 Stoke Heath 2 1 5 0 0 0 
			 Styal 8 3 6 0 4,700 12,021 
			 Sudbury 5 2 1 200 0 3,807 
			 Swaleside 14 12 4 264,550 2,300 10,462 
			 Swansea 4 0 2 13,500 3,500 0 
			 Swinfen Hall 1 2 0 0 0 0 
			 The Mount 4 8 7 8,000 5,840 749 
			 The Verne 8 9 6 23,015 16,500 22,847 
			 Thorn Cross 1 0 1 0 0 0 
			 Usk/Prescoed 2 1 4 0 0 0 
			 Wakefield 12 27 35 8,000 28,342 11,840 
			 Wandsworth 38 24 20 44,067 8,053 16,705 
			 Warren Hill 0 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Wayland 7 8 12 1,500 3,310 17,014 
			 Wealstun 6 4 9 3,750 0 4,700 
			 Weare 4 7 1 5,359 6,005 7,250 
			 Wellingborough 10 2 10 1,774 10,600 6,000 
			 Werrington 0 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Wetherby 1 2 5 0 0 0 
			 Whatton 3 4 11 2,000 0 0 
			 Whitemoor 18 55 65 0 1,699 3,532 
			 Winchester 17 6 8 425 500 46,294 
			 Woodhill 10 17 10 0 10,721 8,364 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 13 9 13 123,435 4,500 522,541 
			 Wymott 19 27 14 29,683 525 17,315 
			 Grand total 958 973 1034 2,291,277 4,432,046 2,036,271

Prisoners: Foreigners

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many foreign prisoners from each country of origin there were in prisons in England and Wales on 1st March 2008.

Jack Straw: The following table gives a breakdown by nationality of all foreign national prisoners in prison establishments in England and Wales as at 31 December 2007. It is available quarterly as table 5 within the Population in custody monthly published tables at the following website:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/populationincustody.htm
	The latest edition containing table 5 is given at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/docs/population-in-custody-dec07.pdf
	The following is the link to the publication schedule for RDS-NOMS publications:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/stats-pub-schedule.htm
	The next bulletin on foreign nationals will be for March 2008, published at the end of April.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
	Information on the country of origin of individual prisoners is not available, and may not be the same as their nationality.
	
		
			  Population in prison by nationality and sex, England and Wales 31 December 2007 
			  Nationality  Male  Female  Total 
			 All nationalities 75,275 4,330 79,605 
			 UK nationals 64,099 3,264 67,363 
			 Foreign nationals 10,337 974 11,310 
			 Not recorded 840 92 932 
			 
			  Total Africa 2,961 436 3,397 
			 Algeria 161 1 162 
			 Angola 76 4 80 
			 Benin 5 0 5 
			 Botswana 1 1 2 
			 Burundi 8 0 8 
			 Cameroon, United Republic 48 2 49 
			 Cape Verde 1 0 1 
			 Central African Republic 11 3 14 
			 Chad 2 0 2 
			 Congo 123 5 128 
			 Congo, Democratic Republic 33 1 34 
			 Djibouti 1 0 1 
			 Egypt 16 0 16 
			 Ethiopia 54 1 55 
			 Gambia 48 4 52 
			 Ghana 195 34 229 
			 Guinea 18 1 19 
			 Guinea/Bissau 2 0 2 
			 Ivory Coast 35 1 36 
			 Kenya 61 10 71 
			 Liberia 26 9 35 
			 Libya 16 0 16 
			 Madagascar 0 1 1 
			 Malawi 14 3 17 
			 Mali 1 0 1 
			 Mauritania 4 0 4 
			 Mauritius 19 1 20 
			 Morocco 45 1 46 
			 Mozambique 4 1 5 
			 Namibia 4 1 5 
			 Niger 3 0 3 
			 Nigeria 917 229 1,146 
			 Rwanda 17 0 17 
			 Senegal 7 1 8 
			 Sierra Leone 84 6 91 
			 Somalia 382 12 394 
			 South Africa 167 49 216 
			 Sudan 44 3 47 
			 Swaziland 1 0 1 
			 Tanzania 18 2 20 
			 Togo 5 3 8 
			 Tongo 1 0 1 
			 Tunisia 22 2 24 
			 Uganda 77 8 85 
			 Western Sahara 2 0 2 
			 Zambia 14 2 16 
			 Zimbabwe 168 33 200 
			 
			  Total Asia 1,973 131 2,104 
			 Afghanistan 109 1 110 
			 Bangladesh 154 3 157 
			 Burma 5 0 5 
			 Cambodia 1 0 1 
			 China 337 49 386 
			 Hong Kong 4 0 4 
			 India 318 5 323 
			 Indonesia 4 0 4 
			 Japan 0 1 1 
			 Korea, Dem Peoples Rep (Nth) 1 1 2 
			 Korea, Republic of (Sth) 6 0 6 
			 Malaysia 38 7 45 
			 Mongolia 8 0 8 
			 Nepal 3 0 3 
			 Pakistan 397 9 406 
			 Philippines 18 3 21 
			 Singapore 3 3 6 
			 Sri Lanka 143 2 145 
			 Thailand 4 7 11 
			 Vietnam 420 40 460 
			 
			  Total Europe 2,957 207 3,164 
			 Albania 147 2 149 
			 Armenia 5 0 5 
			 Austria 14 3 17 
			 Azerbaijan 3 0 3 
			 Belgium 33 1 34 
			 Bosnia-Herzegovina 7 3 10 
			 Bulgaria 26 15 41 
			 Croatia 6 0 6 
			 Cyprus 43 2 45 
			 Czech Republic 56 3 59 
			 Denmark 8 0 8 
			 Estonia 17 2 19 
			 Finland 3 1 4 
			 France 153 14 167 
			 Georgia 19 0 19 
			 Germany 108 11 119 
			 Gibraltar 3 0 3 
			 Greece 15 3 18 
			 Hungary 26 3 29 
			 Irish Republic 609 30 639 
			 Italy 88 7 94 
			 Kazakhstan 5 0 5 
			 Kyrgyzstan 3 0 3 
			 Latvia 48 2 50 
			 Lithuania 191 12 203 
			 Macedonia 7 0 7 
			 Malta 8 0 8 
			 Moldova 18 3 21 
			 Netherlands 105 11 116 
			 Norway 4 0 4 
			 Poland 339 20 359 
			 Portugal 175 7 182 
			 Romania 151 21 172 
			 Russia 98 11 109 
			 San Marino 1 0 1 
			 Serbia and Montenegro 100 1 101 
			 Slovakia 24 2 26 
			 Slovenia 5 1 6 
			 Spain 54 7 61 
			 Sweden 10 5 15 
			 Switzerland 6 1 7 
			 Turkey 211 4 215 
			 Turkmenistan 1 0 1 
			 Uzbekistan 3 0 3 
			 
			  Total Middle East 584 5 589 
			 Iran 205 2 207 
			 Iraq 267 1 268 
			 Israel 24 0 24 
			 Jordan 9 0 9 
			 Kuwait 9 0 9 
			 Lebanon 27 1 28 
			 Oman 1 0 1 
			 Qatar 1 0 1 
			 Saudi Arabia 14 1 15 
			 Syrian Arab Republic 6 0 6 
			 United Arab Emirates 8 0 8 
			 Yemen, Republic of 12 0 12 
			 
			  Total North America 121 10 131 
			 Canada 20 6 26 
			 United States of America 101 4 105 
			   0 0 
			  Total Oceania 44 4 48 
			 Australia 23 3 26 
			 Canton and Enderbury Island 1 0 1 
			 Fiji 9 0 9 
			 French Southern Territories 2 0 2 
			 Kiribati 1 0 1 
			 New Zealand 8 1 9 
			  Total Central and South America 294 42 335 
			 Argentina 3 1 4 
			 Belize 2 0 2 
			 Bolivia 6 0 6 
			 Brazil 57 7 64 
			 Chile 10 0 10 
			 Columbia 104 8 112 
			 Costa Rica 2 1 3 
			 Ecuador 12 1 13 
			 El Salvador 0 1 1 
			 French Guyana 3 2 5 
			 Guatemala 4 0 4 
			 Guyana 30 8 38 
			 Honduras 1 0 1 
			 Mexico 25 8 33 
			 Panama 4 0 4 
			 Paraguay 0 1 1 
			 Peru 6 1 7 
			 Surinam 8 1 9 
			 Uruguay 1 0 1 
			 Venezuela 15 2 17 
			 
			  Total West Indies 1,399 140 1,539 
			 Anguilla 1 0 1 
			 Bahamas 4 0 4 
			 Barbados 34 2 36 
			 Bermuda 3 0 3 
			 Cayman Islands 1 0 1 
			 Cuba 5 0 5 
			 Dominica 10 2 12 
			 Dominican Republic 8 2 10 
			 Federation of St. Christopher and Nevis 2 0 2 
			 Grenada 13 4 17 
			 Haiti 3 0 3 
			 Jamaica 1,185 93 1,278 
			 Montserrat 20 1 21 
			 Netherlands Antilles 7 5 12 
			 St. Lucia 25 8 32 
			 St. Vincent and The Grenadines 9 2 11 
			 Trinidad and Tobago 69 21 90 
			   0 0 
			 
			  Total other 4 0 4 
			  Data Sources and Quality:  These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, but the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system and so although shown to the last individual, the figure may not be accurate to that level.

Probation: Community Orders

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the effect on Probation Service resources of an increase in the use of community penalties by magistrates' courts.

Maria Eagle: There is no simple relationship between the number of community penalties passed and their resource impact upon the probation service. The cost of community penalties is related to the number of such sentences, the risk profile of the offenders made subject to them, the number and nature of requirements included in them and their length. The impact of any rise varies with other changes in the mix of probation workload, such as the number of reports to be prepared and the number of offenders to be supervised on release from custody.
	New community penalties to be supervised by the probation service rose by 5 per cent. between September 2006 and September 2007. The caseload of such cases under supervision at any one time rose by 3 per cent. over the same period.
	An additional £40 million has recently been made available to the probation service for the specific purpose of supporting local plans to promote confidence in the use of community penalties.

Protection from Harassment Act 1997

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) arrests,  (b) prosecutions and  (c) convictions there were for offences under (i) the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 and (ii) the Malicious Communications Act 1988 in each of the last 10 years.

Maria Eagle: The arrests collection undertaken by the Ministry of Justice provides data on persons arrested for recorded crime (notifiable offences) only, by age group, gender, ethnicity, and main offence group, i.e. violence against the person, sexual offences, robbery, burglary, etc. It is not possible to separately identify specific offences from within the main offence groups.
	The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for offences under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 and the Malicious Communications Act 1988 can in England and Wales for the years 1997 to 2006 be viewed in the following table.
	
		
			  N umber of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for offences under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 and the Malicious Communications Act 1988 in England and Wales for the years 1997 to 2006( 1,2,3,4) 
			   Statute 
			   Protection from Harassment Act 1997  Malicious Communications Act 1988  S.1 (l)(a),1(1)(b) 
			   Proceeded against  Found guilty  Proceeded against  Found guilty 
			 1997 780 344 0 0 
			 1998 6,189 3,031 0 0 
			 1999 7,758 3,671 0 0 
			 2000(5) 8,162 3,940 0 0 
			 2001 7,936 3,792 0 0 
			 2002 7,955 3,976 66 38 
			 2003 8,084 4,234 78 47 
			 2004 8,148 4,675 99 64 
			 2005 8,108 5,185 122 73 
			 2006 7,805 5,333 182 121 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) The data relates to the following Statutes and offence descriptions: Malicious Communications Act S.l(l)(a), and 1(1 )(b): Sending letter or other article conveying indecent or grossly offensive message Sending letter or other article conveying threat Sending letter or other article conveying false information Sending article which is in whole or in part indecent or grossly offensive Protection from Harassment Act 1997 S.2(l) and (2), 3(6), 4(1), and 5(5): Infringing the terms of an injunction which restrains the offender from harassment Putting a person in fear of violence Breach of a restraining order under the Act Harassment of another (3) The data excludes racially and or religiously aggravated harassment offences as covered by the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. (4) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (5) Staffordshire police force were only able to submit sample data for persons proceeded against and convicted in the magistrates courts for the year 2000.  Note: Although sufficient to estimate higher orders of data, these data are not robust enough at a detailed level and have been excluded from the table.  Source: Court proceedings data held by RDS—Office for Criminal Justice Reform—Ministry of Justice 
		
	
	Court proceedings data for 2007 will be available in the autumn of 2008.

Reoffenders: Secure Accommodation

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what proportion of  (a) juveniles and  (b) young adult offenders were reconvicted within two years of release from secure children's homes in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what proportion of  (a) juvenile and  (b) young adult offenders were reconvicted within two years of release from secure training centres in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what proportion of  (a) juvenile and  (b) young adult offenders were reconvicted within two years of release from young offenders institutions in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: Young adult offenders are not placed in secure training centres or secure children's homes. The Ministry of Justice statistical bulletin 'Re-offending of Juveniles: results from the 2005 cohort' (July 2007) found that 76 per cent. of young people aged under 18 discharged from custody in the first quarter of 2005 re-offended within a year. It analysed the figures in various ways: for example by age, by ethnicity and by offence sanctioned. However, there would be difficulty in attempting such an analysis by type of custodial establishment, because transfers occur between different types of establishment and the number of offenders given custodial sentences is very small compared to other disposals.

Robbery: Sentencing

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what changes were made to the sentencing guidelines for  (a) magistrates and  (b) Crown courts on robbery offences in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: Robbery is an indictable only offence and therefore is not dealt with in the magistrates courts.
	In July 2006, the Sentencing Guidelines Council issued a guideline on robbery. In December 2004, the Council issued guidelines on seriousness,
	"overarching principles: seriousness, and reduction in sentence for a guilty plea",
	which apply in all cases, including robbery. The latter guideline was revised in July 2007.

Segregation of Prisoners

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners were housed in segregation units in each of the last  (a) five years and  (b) 12 months.

Maria Eagle: The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost, by surveying every establishment in England and Wales.

Vandalism: South Yorkshire

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) arrests,  (b) prosecutions and  (c) convictions there were for vandalism in (i) Barnsley East and Mexborough constituency, (ii) Barnsley Metropolitan borough and (iii) Doncaster metropolitan borough in each year since 2002.

Maria Eagle: The arrests collection undertaken by the Ministry of Justice provides data on persons arrested for recorded crime (notifiable offences), by age group, gender, ethnicity, and main offence group. Information is given in table 1 for South Yorkshire police force area for the number of persons arrested for offences within the main offence group 'criminal damage'.
	
		
			  Table 1:  N umber of persons arrested for recorded crime (notifiable offences) of criminal damage( 1)  in South Yorkshire police force area, by period 
			  Period  Total 
			 2001-02 3,523 
			 2002-03 3,937 
			 2003-04 4,138 
			 2004-05 4,882 
			 2005-06 4,936 
			 (1) Includes indictable offences for criminal damage and summary offences of criminal damage, £5,000 or less.  Note: Every effort is made to ensure that figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 
		
	
	Data for the same area showing the number of defendants proceeded against and found guilty of criminal damage, which includes cases involving vandalism, are given in the following table.
	Data are not available at parliamentary constituency or metropolitan borough level and cases involving vandalism cannot be separately identified from the arrests and court proceedings data held by my Department.
	Data for the same area showing the number of defendants proceeded against and found guilty of criminal damage, which includes cases involving vandalism, are given in the following table.
	Data are not available at parliamentary constituency or metropolitan borough level and cases involving vandalism cannot be separately identified from the arrests and court proceedings data held by my Department.
	
		
			  Table 2: Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts of criminal damage( 1)  in South Yorkshire police force area, 2002 - 06( 2, 3) 
			   Proceeded against  Found guilty 
			 2002 1,765 1,121 
			 2003 1,876 1,164 
			 2004 1,800 1,242 
			 2005 1,831 1,353 
			 2006 1,700 1,251 
			 (1) Includes indictable offences for criminal damage and summary offences of criminal damage, £5,000 or less, and in addition offences under section 19 of the Allotments Act 1922. (2) These data are on the principal offence basis. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Young Offenders

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many persistent young offenders are registered; and how many and what proportion of total offences there were in which the offender was a persistent young offender in each police force area in England and Wales in each year since 1997.

David Hanson: Statistics on Persistent Young Offenders (PYOs) are available from 1997 to 2007. These figures are derived from police national computer data, and monitor the pledge to halve the average time from arrest to sentence for dealing with PYOs in England and Wales from 142 days in 1996 to 71 days.
	The following table shows the number of PYOs in England and Wales in each year since 1997. It also shows the number of cases involving such offenders and the average time from arrest to sentence for dealing with them. Data in this table are published as national statistics by the Ministry of Justice.
	
		
			  Key statistics on persistent young offenders (PYO), 1997  to  2007 
			   Number of PYOs  Number of PYO convictions  Arrest to sentence interval (days) 
			 1997 9,868 16,010 141 
			 1998 11,079 18,605 125 
			 1999 12,014 21,151 108 
			 2000 13,094 23,130 93 
			 2001 13,854 25,393 76 
			 2002 14,244 26,116 68 
			 2003 14,242 26,083 66 
			 2004 14,403 26,363 69 
			 2005 14,725 27,037 68 
			 2006 15,528 28,252 72 
			 2007 16,512 30,683 65 
		
	
	It should be noted that the increase in the number of people who meet the definition of a PYO is partly a consequence of the large improvements in the timeliness of dealing with such offenders. The definition of a PYO relies on counting successive sentencing occasions for a single offender during a limited time period. Speedier operation of the youth justice system has markedly reduced the average time taken from arrest to sentence, and as a result the number of young offenders who fall within the scope of this definition has increased. This was a particular issue from 1997 to 2002, the period during which these timeliness improvements were taking effect.
	Information is not available on the total number offences committed by PYOs. However, information is available on the number of convictions handed down to these offenders, and the following table therefore shows the proportion of total notifiable offences brought to justice that is attributable to court convictions of PYOs. Please note that data on the numbers of offences brought to justice are only currently available for the years 2000 to 2006 inclusive.
	
		
			  Persistent young offender (PYO) convictions as a proportion of notifiable offences brought to justice, 2000-06 
			Court convictions of PYOs 
			   Offences brought to justice  Number  Percentage 
			 2000 1,012.722 23,130 2.28 
			 2001 1,001.301 25,393 2.54 
			 2002 1,031.214 26,116 2.53 
			 2003 1,059.663 26,083 2.46 
			 2004 1,124.574 26,363 2.34 
			 2005 1,276.969 27,037 2.12 
			 2006 1,408.547 28,252 2.01 
		
	
	The Criminal Justice System area breakdowns are in the following table.
	
		
			  Persistent Young Offender (PYO) convictions as a proportion of notifiable offences brought to justice, 2000-06 
			Number of convictions of persistent young offenders 
			   CJS area name  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 0 England and Wales(1) 23,130 25,393 26,116 26,083 26,363 27,037 28,252 
			 1 Metropolitan 2,009 2,291 2,236 2,069 2,205 2,133 2,549 
			 3 Cumbria 305 300 318 337 321 352 415 
			 4 Lancashire 830 843 1,089 1,035 945 1,078 1,216 
			 5 Merseyside 820 966 999 1,015 1,042 835 797 
			 6 Greater Manchester 1,875 2,290 2,165 1,866 1,885 2,101 2,251 
			 7 Cheshire 378 389 449 438 495 530 483 
			 10 Northumbria 1,539 1,612 1,498 1,620 1,518 1,619 1,730 
			 11 Durham 545 464 506 414 328 382 457 
			 12 North Yorkshire 282 280 282 305 333 333 380 
			 13 West Yorkshire 1,367 1,327 1,309 1,432 1,623 1,676 1,575 
			 14 South Yorkshire 696 645 717 713 738 701 646 
			 16 Humberside 412 494 419 501 626 647 653 
			 17 Cleveland 496 506 557 389 396 382 419 
			 20 West Midlands 1,663 1,839 1,759 1,807 1,743 1,456 1,401 
			 21 Staffordshire 400 464 419 516 511 517 515 
			 22 West Mercia 392 414 458 446 501 508 628 
			 23 Warwickshire 145 193 172 145 142 177 225 
			 30 Derbyshire 322 411 403 392 414 416 433 
			 31 Nottinghamshire 669 689 687 671 581 703 709 
			 32 Lincolnshire 228 242 229 260 221 171 199 
			 33 Leicestershire 374 421 459 448 315 466 439 
			 34 Northamptonshire 298 288 282 254 239 243 235 
			 35 Cambridgeshire 267 245 283 342 273 315 310 
			 36 Norfolk 268 278 256 294 258 220 271 
			 37 Suffolk 213 285 363 390 446 491 423 
			 40 Bedfordshire 160 142 127 160 225 189 172 
			 41 Hertfordshire 199 209 246 276 339 362 356 
			 42 Essex 455 479 470 451 514 654 736 
			 43 Thames Valley 455 559 659 561 500 636 721 
			 44 Hampshire 1,079 1,052 1,236 1,184 1,207 1,128 1,116 
			 45 Surrey 175 235 219 194 239 249 258 
			 46 Kent 480 614 619 715 654 673 686 
			 47 Sussex 242 335 414 465 615 762 828 
			 50 Devon and Cornwall 299 418 434 504 576 518 485 
			 52 Avon and Somerset 314 449 496 482 456 564 612 
			 53 Gloucestershire 135 183 188 194 199 215 285 
			 54 Wiltshire 151 166 192 203 222 206 202 
			 55 Dorset 109 141 183 219 215 243 274 
			 60 North Wales 273 346 426 451 438 386 402 
			 61 Gwent 341 336 325 372 420 396 409 
			 62 South Wales 1,082 1,111 1,100 1,018 900 869 719 
			 63 Dyfed Powys 158 212 225 242 199 228 264 
		
	
	
		
			  Percentage 
			Proportion of convictions of persistent young offenders from all notifiable offences brought to justice 
			   CJS area name  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 0 England and Wales(1) 2.28 2.54 2.53 2.46 2.34 2.12 2.01 
			 1 Metropolitan 1.60 1.92 1.70 1.60 1.61 1.27 1.26 
			 3 Cumbria 2.99 3.15 3.15 3.11 2.73 2.79 3.23 
			 4 Lancashire 2.76 2.82 3.47 3.32 2.74 2.75 2.48 
			 5 Merseyside 2.70 3.31 3.45 3.19 3.08 2.02 1.82 
			 6 Greater Manchester 3.12 4.00 3.86 3.25 2.79 2.89 2.73 
			 7 Cheshire 2.23 2.58 2.86 2.64 2.89 2.36 1.94 
			 10 Northumbria 3.81 3.97 3.68 3.80 3.94 3.96 3.57 
			 11 Durham 4.28 3.56 3.70 3.24 2.71 2.84 2.94 
			 12 North Yorkshire 2.25 2.32 2.32 2.32 2.23 2.14 2.51 
			 13 West Yorkshire 2.61 2.83 2.76 2.98 2.63 2.33 2.38 
			 14 South Yorkshire 2.68 2.62 2.92 2.60 2.52 1.93 1.56 
			 16 Humberside 2.23 2.82 2.47 2.66 2.87 2.69 2.51 
			 17 Cleveland 3.39 3.45 3.67 2.61 2.67 2.32 2.03 
			 20 West Midlands 2.31 2.43 2.21 2.25 2.48 2.06 1.84 
			 21 Staffordshire 1.78 2.23 1.80 2.21 2.23 2.00 1.84 
			 22 West Mercia 1.91 1.91 2.08 2.01 2.08 1.84 2.13 
			 23 Warwickshire 2.10 2.38 2.23 1.68 1.55 1.69 1.82 
			 30 Derbyshire 2.00 2.40 2.19 2.19 2.23 1.97 2.04 
			 31 Nottinghamshire 2.54 2.76 2.97 2.72 2.35 2.56 2.36 
			 32 Lincolnshire 2.63 2.35 2.11 2.44 1.97 1.19 1.31 
			 33 Leicestershire 2.11 2.21 2.56 2.33 1.43 1.86 1.61 
			 34 Northamptonshire 2.13 2.18 2.25 1.97 1.78 2.00 1.57 
			 35 Cambridgeshire 2.24 2.25 2.32 2.64 2.20 2.02 1.77 
			 36 Norfolk 1.93 2.19 1.95 2.15 1.70 1.38 1.46 
			 37 Suffolk 1.82 2.47 3.03 2.93 2.97 3.21 2.44 
			 40 Bedfordshire 1.55 1.24 1.10 1.45 1.89 1.43 1.26 
			 41 Hertfordshire 1.49 1.53 1.65 1.70 1.76 1.93 1.32 
			 42 Essex 2.28 2.27 2.14 1.92 2.03 1.97 1.95 
			 43 Thames Valley 1.50 1.81 1.93 1.73 1.38 1.18 1.40 
			 44 Hampshire 3.34 3.32 3.85 3.58 3.23 2.95 2.90 
			 45 Surrey 1.67 1.93 1.91 1.51 1.35 1.58 1.47 
			 46 Kent 1.80 2.44 2.53 2.53 2.24 1.99 1.87 
			 47 Sussex 1.21 1.53 1.83 1.97 2.26 2.37 2.44 
			 50 Devon and Cornwall 1.18 1.67 1.60 1.84 2.06 1.68 1.47 
			 52 Avon and Somerset 1.21 1.73 1.83 1.80 1.74 1.64 1.60 
			 53 Gloucestershire 1.06 1.40 1.43 1.46 1.65 1.51 1.76 
			 54 Wiltshire 1.42 1.53 1.92 1.80 1.93 1.70 1.67 
			 55 Dorset 0.97 1.26 1.63 2.02 1.37 1.50 1.63 
			 60 North Wales 2.08 2.75 3.22 3.34 2.97 2.45 2.19 
			 61 Gwent 2.00 1.92 2.00 2.21 2.65 2.64 2.30 
			 62 South Wales 3.56 3.76 3.61 3.22 2.87 2.88 2.43 
			 63 Dyfed Powys 1.44 1.87 1.91 1.93 1.83 1.75 1.92 
			 (1) The England and Wales totals include cases dealt with by the British Transport Police or else are not assigned to a local constabulary. 
		
	
	Further information on persistent young offenders can be found on the dedicated page of the Ministry of Justice website:
	www.justice.gov.uk/publications/averagetimearresttosentencepyo.htm

Young Offenders: Restraint Techniques

Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he will place in the Library a copy of the manual for control and restraint in young offenders institutions.

David Hanson: Control and restraint (C and R) techniques are used in all Prison Service establishments, including young offender institutions, as a last resort when all other de-escalation techniques have failed. The restraint methods involve a variety of defensive and disarming techniques ranging from simple breakaway techniques through to defensive strikes and defence against improvised weapons and firearms. For reasons of security the prison service does not disclose details of the individual techniques used in C and R.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Access to Justice Act 1999

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded under section 94 of the Access to Justice Act 1999 in each year since 2002; and what percentage of these offences  (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators,  (b) led to a conviction and  (c) resulted in a sanction detection.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not available. Offences under this legislation are recorded in the 'Other indictable or triable either way offences' classification and cannot be separately identified from other offences within that classification. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Adoption and Children Act 2002

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded under the Adoption and Children Act 2002 in each year since its entry into force, broken down by offence; and what percentage of these offences  (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators,  (b) led to a conviction and  (c) resulted in a sanction detection.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not available. Offences under this legislation are recorded in the 'Other indictable or triable either way offences' classification and cannot be separately identified from other offences within that classification. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Air Navigation (Overseas Territories) Order 2001

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded under the Air Navigation (Overseas Territories) Order 2001 in each year since 2002, broken down by offence; and what percentage of these offences  (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators,  (b) led to a conviction and  (c) resulted in a sanction detection.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not available. Offences under this legislation are recorded in the 'Other indictable or triable either way offences' classification and cannot be separately identified from other offences within that classification. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Asylum

Clare Short: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects a decision to be made on Yousef Ahmedali's application for asylum (Reference A1142900).

Liam Byrne: holding answer 17 March 2008
	The Border and Immigration Agency will make a decision in line with usual procedures, this is expected to be in the next four weeks.

Asylum

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 16 January 2008,  Official Report, column 1297W, on asylum, how many grants of indefinite leave to remain (ILR) under the 2003 family ILR exercise were for families in the categories  (a) Africa other,  (b) Middle East other and  (c) Asia other, broken down by nationality.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 20 March 2008
	The requested information is contained in the following table.
	Copies of asylum statistics publications are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html
	
		
			  Grants of ILR issued under the family ILR exercise as at 7 December 2007, excluding dependants, for specified nationalities( 1,)( )( 2,)( )( 3,)( )( 4) 
			  Country of nationality  Total 
			 Africa Other  
			 Benin 5 
			 Botswana * 
			 Burkina Faso 5 
			 Central African Republic * 
			 Chad 10 
			 Gabon 5 
			 Guinea 15 
			 Guinea-Bissau 10 
			 Malawi 10 
			 Mali 5 
			 Mauritania * 
			 Mauritius 15 
			 Mozambique * 
			 Niger 5 
			 Senegal * 
			 Seychelles 10 
			 South Africa 40 
			 Togo 40 
			 Western Sahara * 
			 Zambia 25 
			 Total Africa Other 200 
			 Asia Other  
			 Bhutan * 
			 Cambodia * 
			 Fiji * 
			 Indonesia 10 
			 Malaysia 5 
			 Mongolia 30 
			 Myanmar (Burma) 10 
			 Nauru * 
			 Nepal 50 
			 North Korea * 
			 Philippines 15 
			 Singapore * 
			 South Korea 5 
			 Taiwan * 
			 Thailand 5 
			 Total Asia Other 130 
			 Middle East  
			 Bahrain * 
			 Egypt 20 
			 Israel 40 
			 Jordan 10 
			 Kuwait 10 
			 Lebanon 100 
			 Morocco 15 
			 Oman * 
			 Palestine 155 
			 Saudi Arabia 5 
			 Tunisia 10 
			 United Arab Emirates * 
			 Yemen 65 
			 Total Middle East Other 440 
			 (1) Provisional figures rounded to the nearest 5 (* = 1 or 2 ).  (2) Main asylum applicants (this is how the Family ILR exercise records those more often referred to as "principal asylum applicants").  (3) This information is based on internal management information.  (4) Nationality recorded as at 7 December 2007 is not necessarily the applicant's nationality at the time of grant of ILR.

Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants) Act 2004

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded under the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants) Act 2004 in each year since its entry into force, broken down by offence; and what percentage of these offences  (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators,  (b) led to a conviction and  (c) resulted in a sanction detection.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not available. Offences under this legislation are recorded in the 'Immigration Acts' offence classification and cannot be separately identified from other offences within that classification. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Border and Immigration Agency

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the titles are of the Case Resolution Teams in the Border and Immigration Agency; how many full-time equivalent staff are allocated to each team; how many outstanding cases are allocated to each team; and how many older, unresolved asylum cases are assigned to each team.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 18 March 2008
	Case Resolution Teams are identified serially by number and are abbreviated with a suffix CRT(S), CRT(M) or CRT(L) depending upon whether they are located in Croydon (S stands for South), Manchester or Liverpool.
	There are currently around 60 case owner teams with a full time equivalent staff complement, ranging from seven to 15 per team.
	In December 2007 we allocated 330,000 principal applicant cases to around 60 case owner teams so that each team has about 5,500 cases to conclude.

Border and Immigration Agency: Correspondence

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) letters,  (b) emails and  (c) telephone calls were received by the Border and Immigration Agency from hon. Members and their staff in each year since 2003; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: The Border and Immigration Agency have received the numbers noted in the following table of telephone calls, e-mails and letters from hon. Members and their staff since 2003. (The e-mail service did not start until 2005).
	
		
			   Number 
			  Letters  
			 2003 (1)26,577 
			 2004 38,015 
			 2005 41,075 
			 2006 41,534 
			 2007 46,180 
			 Total 193,381 
			   
			  E-mails  
			 2005 (last four months) 98 
			 2006 899 
			 2007 2,325 
			 2008 (to 29 February 2008) 567 
			 Total 3,889 
			   
			  Phone calls  
			 2003 (seven month total) 15,728 
			 2004 31,393 
			 2005 34,338 
			 2006 31,749 
			 2007 24,429 
			 2008 (to date) 3,877 
			 Total 110,121 
			 (1) Ministerial performance for 2003 does not include January-March figures.  Notes: 1. Figures for letters received do not include OGD transfers 2. These statistics come from local management figures not from any published source and may be subject to amendment.

Border and Immigration Agency: Visits

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many personnel from the Border and Immigration Agency made official overseas visits in each of the last five years; what the purpose and destination of each visit was; and what the cost of the visits was.

Liam Byrne: The agency does not hold a central record of the number, purpose and destination of overseas visits made by personnel from the Border and Immigration Agency.

Border and Immigration Agency: Expenditure

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was spent on enforcement action by the Border and Immigration Agency and its predecessor in each of the last five years; and what proportion was attributed to activity against individuals involved in identity theft or identity fraud involving document abuse.

Liam Byrne: Enforcement action consists of many stages in the end-to-end process of resolving a case. It can include policy work, caseworking, inquiries abroad, intelligence work, legal advice, support costs, operations, detention, escorts the cost of charters and other flights used to effect removal, and ministerial and senior officials' time. Such costs are spread across a number of cost centres within the Agency and its predecessor and are not functionally recorded on a case-by-case basis. The information requested could therefore be provided only by the detailed analysis of individual case records at disproportionate cost.
	The Border and Immigration Agency's budget allocations are not made or recorded on a detailed activity basis and therefore it is not possible to give a definitive figure for the proportion of budget attributed to activity against individuals involved in identity theft or identity fraud involving document abuse. However, action against such theft or fraud is an important part of our Enforcement Strategy, published in March 2007.
	Copies of the document are placed in the Libraries of both Houses. It is available to view at:
	http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/managingourborders/enforcementstrategy/
	Latest published statistics on the total spend in the Home Office are set out in the Home Office report a copy of which has also been placed in both Houses. It is also available to view at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/ho-annual-report-07?view=Binary

Borders: Personal Records

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the FBI terrorist screening database will be among the multi-agency watchlists used as part of the e-borders programme to check persons flying into the UK.

Liam Byrne: The e-Borders system will contain a number of agency owned watchlists against which traveller's details will be checked to identify those of interest to UK authorities, including subjects linked to terrorism. It is a matter for the responsible agencies to identify individuals suitable for inclusion in their watchlists; this may include those identified through international liaison.

British Amusement Catering Trade Association

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations her Department has received from the British Amusement Catering Trade Association; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 18 February 2008
	 The Department has received no recent representations from the British Amusement Catering Trade Association.

BSE Monitoring (England) Regulations 2001

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded under the BSE Monitoring (England) Regulations 2001 in each year since 2002, broken down by offence; and what percentage of these offences  (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators,  (b) led to a conviction and  (c) resulted in a sanction detection.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not available. Offences under this legislation are recorded in the 'Other indictable or triable either way offences' classification and cannot be separately identified from other offences within that classification. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Care Act 2000

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded under section 89 of the Care Act 2000 in each year since 2002, broken down by offence; and what percentage of these offences  (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators,  (b) led to a conviction and  (c) resulted in a sanction detection.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not available. Offences under this legislation are recorded in the 'other indictable or triable either way offences' classification and cannot be separately identified from other offences within that classification. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Civil Partnership Act 2004

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded under the Civil Partnership Act 2004 in each year since its entry into force, broken down by offence; and what percentage of those offences  (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators,  (b) led to a conviction and  (c) resulted in a sanction detection.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not available. Offences under this legislation are recorded in either the 'disclosure, obstruction, false or misleading statements' classification or in the 'other indictable or triable either way offences' classification and cannot be separately identified from other offences within those classifications. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Civil Service Appeal Board

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what percentage of appeals by employees of  (a) her Department and  (b) its agencies were (i) heard and (ii) upheld by the Civil Service Appeal Board in each of the last 10 years; how much was awarded in compensation by the Board to each successful appellant in each year; what the reason was for each compensation award; how many appellants were reinstated by the Board in each year; and what the reason was for each (A) dismissal and (B) reinstatement.

Liam Byrne: Statistics on the number of appeals heard during the last 10 financial years can be found in Appendix 2 of the Civil Service Appeal Board's Annual Reports.
	These are available on the board's website at:
	www.civilserviceappealboard.gov.uk/publications.aspx
	The further information requested is not recorded centrally and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost to the Department.

Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded under the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005 in each year since its entry into force, broken down by offence; and what percentage of these offences  (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators,  (b) led to a conviction and  (c) resulted in a sanction detection.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not available. Offences under this legislation are recorded in the 'other indictable or triable either way offences' classification and cannot be separately identified from other offences within that classification. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Communications Act 2003

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded under the Communications Act 2003 in each year since its entry into force; and what percentage of these offences  (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators,  (b) led to a conviction and  (c) resulted in a sanction detection.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not available. Offences under this legislation are recorded in the 'other indictable or triable either way offences' classification and cannot be separately identified from other offences within that classification. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Compensation Act 2006

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded under the Compensation Act 2006 in each year since its entry into force; and what percentage of these offences  (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators,  (b) led to a conviction and  (c) resulted in a sanction detection.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not available. Offences under this legislation are recorded in the 'other indictable or triable either way offences' classification and cannot be separately identified from other offences within that classification. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Corruption: Juries

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences of embracery were recorded in each year since 1997; and what percentage of these offences  (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators,  (b) led to a conviction and  (c) resulted in a sanction detection.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not available. Offences of 'embracery' are recorded in the 'attempting to pervert the course of justice' offence classification and cannot be separately identified from other offences within that offence classification. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Crimes Against Public Morality

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences of committing an act outraging public decency have been recorded in each year since 1997; and what percentage of these offences  (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators,  (b) led to a conviction and  (c) resulted in a sanction detection.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not available. Offences of 'committing an act outraging public decency' are recorded in the 'other offences against the state and public order' offence classification and cannot be separately identified from other offences within that classification. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Crimes of Violence

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what percentage of incidents of violence against the person resulted in the victim suffering  (a) no injuries,  (b) a minor bruise or black eye,  (c) severe bruising,  (d) scratches,  (e) cuts,  (f) broken bones,  (g) a broken nose,  (h) broken or lost teeth,  (i) concussion and  (j) facial or head injuries in each police force area in England and Wales in each year since 1997.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not collected centrally. It is not possible to determine the nature of the injury from the police recorded crime statistics collected by the Home Office.

Crimes of Violence

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what percentage of incidents of violence against the person resulted in the victim needing  (a) medical attention from a doctor,  (b) another form of medical attention and  (c) a hospital stay in each police force area in England and Wales in each year since 1997.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not available.
	While the British Crime Survey asks victims of violent incidents whether or not they required medical attention or a hospital stay, it is not possible to provide robust estimates by police force area.

Criminal Proceedings

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether any criminal proceedings have been brought against  (a) her Department's employees and  (b) contractors' employees including immigration removal centre staff and immigration escort staff; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: This information is not held centrally and to search through all records would incur a disproportionate cost. However CRB checks are carried out on all prospective employees of both the BIA and its contractors prior to offers of employment being made.

Departmental Complaints

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether any complaints investigated by  (a) her Department and  (b) the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration resulted in findings of wrong-doing by Home Office employees or its contractors' employees, including immigration removal centre and immigration escort staff in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: BIA does not currently hold these data, and the cost of extracting them from records would be disproportionate. However, of the 52 serious complaints investigated since 1 October 2006 in relation to escorting contractors, only one has been substantiated and seven have been partially substantiated.

Departmental Hearing Impaired

Andy Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what provision is made for deaf people to access services provided by her Department through call centres.

Liam Byrne: The Home Office provides textphone facilities in all of its contact centres. The numbers are:
	Central Home Office: Textphone 020 7035 4742.
	Border Immigration Agency: Textphone 0800 389 8289.
	Identity and Passport Service: Textphone 0870 240 8090. Typetalk is also available through the 24-hour Passport Adviceline 0870 521 0410
	Criminal Records Bureau: Textphone 0870 909 0811.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will break down her Department's  (a) main estimate,  (b) winter supplementary estimate and  (c) spring supplementary estimate by subhead in (i) near cash and (ii) non-cash terms for the 2007-08 financial year.

Liam Byrne: Near cash/non cash splits relate to departmental expenditure limit resource budget controls and are not compatible with supply estimates which relate to voted resource expenditure. Voted expenditure for the Home Department at the spring supplementary estimate 2007-08 is some £1,082,543,000 higher than the resource budget departmental expenditure limit. A high level reconciliation between the different bases is provided within the estimate.
	The following table assigns non-cash within resource DEL budgets to the related subhead at the main estimate 2007-08, winter supplementary estimate 2007-08 and spring supplementary estimate 2007-08. All other DEL provision is near cash.
	
		
			  £000 
			  Subhead   As at main estimate  As at winter supplementary estimate  As at spring supplementary estimate 
			  Total DEL 13,524,956 8,662,912 8,659,454 
			 o/w Non cash:
			 C Criminal Records Bureau 717 717 717 
			 D Counter Terrorism and Intelligence 21,319 16,719 9,046 
			 F Criminal justice reform 16,338 0 0 
			 G National Offender Management Service HQ 383,983 0 0 
			 H Prisons—private sector 23,720 0 0 
			 I Prisons—public sector (4,900) 0 0 
			 J Probation HQ 457 0 0 
			 K Border and Immigration Agency 72,136 72,446 72,446 
			 L Identity and passport Service 22,563 44,563 44,563 
			 M Central services 3,439 (15,528) (15,830) 
			 W Independent Police Complaints Commission 2,626 2,626 2,626 
			 X Security Industry Authority 2,583 2,583 2,583 
			 Y Serious and Organised Crime Agency 16,016 16,016 16,016 
			 AA National Policing Improvement Agency 29,780 29,780 37,453 
			 AB Youth Justice Board 3,000 0 0 
			 AC Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (3,740) 0 0 
			 AD Criminal Cases Review Commission 513 0 0 
			 AE Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner 110 0 0 
			   590,660 169,922 169,620

Departmental Temporary Employment

Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the average number of agency workers employed in her Department in the latest period for which figures are available.

Liam Byrne: The actual numbers of agency staff on 31 December 2007 were:
	
		
			   Total FTE staf f  Agency staff 
			 HO headquarters 3,622 368 
			 Border and Immigration Agency (BIA) 19,554 779 
			 Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) 458 0 
			 Identity and Passport Service (IPS) 3,513 222 
			 Total 27,147 1,369

Departmental Working Hours

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many hours  (a) in total and  (b) on average per employee were worked by civil servants in her Department in the last year for which records are available.

Liam Byrne: This information is not held centrally.

Detention Centres: Complaints

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department by what means her Department monitors trends in allegations of assault by its staff and its contractors, with particular reference to immigration removal centre and immigration escort staff; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: Allegations of assault are recorded and monitored by the Border and Immigration Agency's Detention Services. All such allegations are investigated by an independent, trained investigator from the Agency's Professional Standards Unit and are additionally referred to the police for their own investigation.

Detention Centres: Complaints

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what penalties have been imposed on her Department's contractors in relation to upheld complaints regarding assaults on detainees by their staff in immigration removal centres and in transit in the last four years; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: In the last four years, there have been two instances of performance measures being imposed against contractors in relation to complaints of assaults on detainees by staff in immigration removal centres or in transit being upheld. Financial penalties are considered to be commercial in confidence and it is not BIA policy to release this information.

Detention Centres: Complaints

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints of alleged assault of immigrants by her Department's staff or its contractors' staff have been reported by  (a) the alleged victims,  (b) their befrienders,  (c) witnesses,  (d) solicitors,  (e) independent monitoring boards and  (f) immigration removal centres over the last four years; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: This information is not available in the categories requested.

Driving Offences

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many motoring offences were dealt with by police in each police force area in each year since 1997.

Vernon Coaker: Available information on the number of motoring offences dealt with by official police action in England and Wales from 1997 to 2005 (latest available) is given in the following table.
	2006 data will be available later this year.
	
		
			  Motoring offences( 1)  dealt with, by police force area, England and Wales, 1997 to 2005 
			  Number of offences 
			  Police force area  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 Avon and Somerset 167,200 185,600 192,000 166,700 147,100 170,500 229,700 219,500 183,900 
			 Bedfordshire 79,400 76,100 47,400 56,400 54,900 75,900 103,500 90,500 90,600 
			 Cambridgeshire 78,300 69,800 69,300 61,800 58,000 66,500 72,700 53,900 75,000 
			 Cheshire 80,000 90,600 81,100 74,300 72,400 70,400 87,100 109,500 82,800 
			 Cleveland 80,400 92,200 81,100 85,300 76,800 84,100 74,600 65,200 59,300 
			 Cumbria 58,200 57,400 44,600 34,000 32,500 30,400 52,300 59,000 53,700 
			 Derbyshire 97,700 107,100 105,800 98,200 96,600 139,900 154,300 108,500 80,800 
			 Devon and Cornwall 198,900 192,200 185,500 187,700 166,100 182,000 234,700 231,700 172,800 
			 Dorset 93,300 84,800 88,400 97,400 87,200 71,600 112,300 116,000 125,700 
			 Durham 43,700 50,500 54,200 58,400 58,000 52,800 42,200 36,400 31,200 
			 Essex 193,800 157,600 191,200 219,200 268,000 299,800 138,400 150,500 173,300 
			 Gloucestershire 73,800 79,600 72,100 72,700 70,800 65,500 64,800 57,500 54,100 
			 Greater Manchester 449,200 426,000 373,800 366,400 338,000 308,000 316,000 309,800 298,500 
			 Hampshire 205,800 207,300 202,800 150,100 159,200 145,800 150,200 150,000 143,200 
			 Hertfordshire 115,600 94,900 113,500 102,500 102,200 93,100 88,600 125,900 112,900 
			 Humberside 75,700 78,100 78,600 89,400 80,300 73,900 91,600 122,400 119,500 
			 Kent 149,200 140,700 113,200 80,600 80,300 97,400 126,300 147,600 128,200 
			 Lancashire 227,700 223,300 211,300 195,000 173,200 294,200 324,600 170,100 151,500 
			 Leicestershire 125,000 132,400 132,800 115,300 116,700 131,200 157,200 112,200 49,600 
			 Lincolnshire 78,700 85,500 79,500 85,400 87,700 82,500 95,600 105,200 98,400 
			 London, City of 34,300 34,400 30,600 29,200 24,600 28,500 29,200 33,100 33,000 
			 Merseyside 196,600 197,700 179,000 127,400 108,800 98,700 98,200 99,300 111,700 
			 Metropolitan Police 583,800 549,300 476,600 503,600 436,100 428,500 574,300 574,800 437,400 
			 Norfolk 75,700 67,500 69,200 57,900 61,800 61,300 75,500 65,300 61,700 
			 Northamptonshire 65,400 69,100 63,300 118,500 106,500 78,400 87,000 92,900 85,700 
			 Northumbria 202,900 202,200 214,400 203,500 227,900 214,800 216,800 244,300 176,200 
			 North Yorkshire 70,100 65,700 61,000 50,200 48,600 39,700 37,800 43,200 38,300 
			 Nottinghamshire 106,900 106,200 90,100 101,400 90,600 89,200 108,500 110,600 103,700 
			 South Yorkshire 144,000 137,000 124,700 120,100 130,200 115,200 148,000 134,600 147,000 
			 Staffordshire 140,300 124,100 105,500 88,900 64,600 75,600 99,600 105,300 112,200 
			 Suffolk 61,300 69,400 76,400 66,400 65,700 66,900 79,600 109,100 94,800 
			 Surrey 62,200 65,000 63,800 66,800 68,200 61,000 53,000 44,300 59,800 
			 Sussex 220,800 206,500 177,900 196,900 138,100 112,000 146,900 118,800 142,600 
			 Thames Valley 210,400 225,900 196,800 205,600 269,200 231,300 233,700 217,900 213,600 
			 Warwickshire 61,800 63,800 62,400 52,400 55,400 75,600 103,100 91,300 84,400 
			 West Mercia 104,300 107,600 105,400 99,900 101,000 97,400 141,200 114,400 120,400 
			 West Midlands 376,700 364,500 300,800 256,300 228,100 257,500 304,900 320,600 273,100 
			 West Yorkshire 250,800 249,600 237,200 227,600 204,100 205,000 266,900 316,400 269,100 
			 Wiltshire 66,200 76,700 70,200 72,300 67,100 80,100 92,800 97,000 101,500 
			 Dyfed-Powys 56,800 59,000 61,800 60,000 53,300 64,100 50,500 39,200 43,000 
			 Gwent 67,600 67,800 58,900 71,900 63,200 51,500 53,600 49,900 44,800 
			 North Wales 68,200 63,100 62,500 68,300 65,400 95,000 168,300 111,100 126,100 
			 South Wales 237,400 250,400 228,400 251,300 254,900 251,300 256,500 240,600 224,400 
			 England and Wales 6,136,100 6,054,200 5,635,100 5,493,200 5,259,400 5,414,100 6,142,600 5,915,400 5,389,500 
			 (1) Includes written warnings, VDRS notices, fixed penalty notices, court proceedings.  Notes:  1. It is known that for some police force areas, the reporting of court proceedings in particular those relating to summary motoring offences may be less than complete.  2. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Driving Offences: Fines

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of fines for motoring offences were issued after  (a) an offence was recorded on a traffic camera and  (b) a fixed penalty notice was issued by a police officer in each year since 1997.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	Data for 2006 will be available later this year.
	
		
			  Number and proportion of motoring offences fixed penalty notices issued where (a) the offence was detected by camera( 1,2) ; and (b) the fixed penalty notice was issued by a police officer( 3) , England and Wales 1997 to 2005 
			   Fixed penalty notices issued 
			   Following detection by camera( 1,)( )( 2)  Directly by police officer( 3,)( )( 4)  Total 
			  1997
			 Number 323,200 3,104,600 3,427,800 
			 Percentage 9 91 100 
			 
			  1998
			 Number 370,500 3,069,400 3,439,900 
			 Percentage 11 89 100 
			 
			  1999
			 Number 460,100 2,673,600 3,133,700 
			 Percentage 15 85 100 
			 
			  2000
			 Number 642,400 2,355,900 2,998,300 
			 Percentage 21 79 100 
			 
			  2001
			 Number 923,000 1,995,000 2,918,000 
			 Percentage 32 68 100 
			 
			  2002
			 Number 1,206,300 1,791,100 2,997,400 
			 Percentage 40 60 100 
			 
			  2003
			 Number 1,784,500 1,672,200 3,456,700 
			 Percentage 52 48 100 
			 
			  2004
			 Number 1,899,800 1,534,900 3,434,700 
			 Percentage 55 45 100 
			 
			  2005
			 Number 1,886,700 1,316,300 3,203,000 
			 Percentage 59 41 100 
			 (1) Automatic cameras until 1998, all camera types from 1999.  (2) Covers speeding and traffic light offences only.  (3) Including traffic wardens.  (4) Covers all motoring offences where a fixed penalty notice can be given.   Note:  Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when these data are used.

Driving: Insurance

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) successful prosecutions,  (b) cautions and  (c) issues of fixed penalty notices there were relating to uninsured drivers in each police force area in each of the last 10 years; and what the average penalty was.

Vernon Coaker: The available information relates to the offence of 'use of a motor vehicle uninsured against third party risks'. Tables A and B provide data on successful prosecutions (findings of guilt) and cover court imposed fines from 1997 to 2005 (latest available). Table C covers fixed penalty notices issued as from 1 June 2003, when a fixed penalty became available for the offence, to 2005.
	The written warnings (including formal cautions) collection, held by the Ministry of Justice, is unable to identify this offence from others within the offence group "vehicle insurance offences". None of the Ministry's collections separately identify uninsured drivers involved in other motoring offences.
	2006 data will be available later this year.
	
		
			  Table A: Proceedings and findings of guilt at magistrates courts for the office of using a motor vehicle uninsured against third party risks( 1)  by police force area, England and Wales, 1997 to 2005 
			  Number and percentage 
			   1997  1998  1999 
			Total findings of guilt   Total findings of guilt   Total findings of guilt 
			  Police force area  Total proceedings [=100%]  Number  Percentage  Total proceedings [=100%]  Number  Percentage  Total proceedings [=100%]  Number  Percentage 
			 Avon and Somerset 15,354 9,424 61 16,892 9,875 58 15,098 9,357 62 
			 Bedfordshire 4,724 2,951 62 4,449 2,992 67 3,479 2,328 67 
			 Cambridgeshire 3,440 2,395 70 3,425 2,507 73 3,058 2,233 73 
			 Cheshire 4,838 3,499 72 4,961 3,658 74 5,463 3,872 71 
			 Cleveland 3,925 2,798 71 4,204 2,908 69 4,331 3,027 70 
			 Cumbria 4,223 3,089 73 3,787 2,866 76 3,597 2,772 77 
			 Derbyshire 5,565 3,830 69 5,137 3,522 69 5,120 3,613 71 
			 Devon and Cornwall 8,422 4,967 59 7,232 4,263 59 7,493 4,681 62 
			 Dorset 5,271 3,458 66 4,198 2,777 66 4,776 3,013 63 
			 Durham 3,992 2,912 73 4,261 3,086 72 5,899 4,475 76 
			 Essex 7,161 4,507 63 7,025 4,635 66 7,336 5,035 69 
			 Gloucestershire 3,577 2,115 59 4,465 2,885 65 4,443 2,867 65 
			 Greater Manchester 30,655 20,548 67 30,836 21,430 69 33,228 23,697 71 
			 Hampshire 11,768 7,844 67 11,557 8,028 69 11,553 8,123 70 
			 Hertfordshire 4,580 2,573 56 5,799 3,056 53 4,748 2,789 59 
			 Humberside 4,408 3,479 79 4,279 3,501 82 4,894 3,920 80 
			 Kent 6,935 4,755 69 6,958 4,808 69 6,151 4,232 69 
			 Lancashire 20,334 11,577 57 18,794 11,198 60 18,111 10,800 60 
			 Leicestershire 9,706 5,990 62 9,481 6,265 66 11,054 7,281 66 
			 Lincolnshire 4,589 3,001 65 5,000 3,466 69 5,345 3,744 70 
			 London, City of 2,671 1,382 52 3,127 1,431 46 2,521 1,141 45 
			 Merseyside 10,896 8,435 77 9,747 7,694 79 8,932 6,920 77 
			 Metropolitan Police 42,283 25,873 61 35,064 22,874 65 31,285 20,893 67 
			 Norfolk 3,932 3,456 88 3,434 3,060 89 3,468 3,000 87 
			 Northamptonshire 4,999 3,083 62 4,849 3,271 67 5,571 4,151 75 
			 Northumbria 12,470 8,064 65 11,837 8,079 68 13,296 9,299 70 
			 North Yorkshire 3,926 2,778 71 3,744 2,538 68 4,003 2,656 66 
			 Nottinghamshire 8,078 6,149 76 8,726 6,658 76 7,957 6,156 77 
			 South Yorkshire 11,228 7,346 65 11,553 7,831 68 11,763 8,424 72 
			 Staffordshire 8,180 5,251 64 8,210 5,379 66 8,021 5,725 71 
			 Suffolk 3,258 2,202 68 3,743 2,283 61 4,189 2,547 61 
			 Surrey 4,942 2,439 49 3,908 2,051 52 4,436 2,278 51 
			 Sussex 9,333 4,726 51 8,202 4,150 51 7,415 4,198 57 
			 Thames Valley 11,887 6,258 53 11,948 6,311 53 13,543 7,291 54 
			 Warwickshire 4,316 2,595 60 3,769 2,394 64 3,523 2,192 62 
			 West Mercia 7,082 4,848 68 8,207 5,624 69 7,450 5,224 70 
			 West Midlands 29,878 18,484 62 30,928 18,969 61 27,409 16,407 60 
			 West Yorkshire 23,980 15,042 63 23,549 14,682 62 25,776 15,903 62 
			 Wiltshire 3,463 2,311 67 4,820 2,712 56 4,708 2,558 54 
			 Dyfed-Powys 3,079 1,953 63 2,852 1,952 68 3,017 2,044 68 
			 Gwent 4,097 2,899 71 4,478 3,344 75 4,451 3,452 78 
			 North Wales 4,859 3,280 68 4,452 3,309 74 4,102 3,097 75 
			 South Wales 14,829 9,936 67 16,187 10,629 66 15,406 10,467 68 
			 England and Wales 397,133 254,502 64 390,074 254,951 65 387,419 257,882 67 
		
	
	
		
			  Number and percentage 
			   2000  2001  2002 
			Total findings of guilt   Total findings of guilt   Total findings of guilt 
			  Police force area  Total proceedings [=100%]  Number  Percentage  Total proceedings [=100%]  Number  Percentage  Total proceedings [=100%]  Number  Percentage 
			 Avon and Somerset 14,609 9,515 65 13,022 8,393 64 15,124 9,700 64 
			 Bedfordshire 3,594 2,307 64 4,651 2,895 62 4,731 3,147 67 
			 Cambridgeshire 2,929 2,216 76 2,508 1,967 78 2,875 2,266 79 
			 Cheshire 5,729 4,075 71 4,975 3,885 78 5,765 4,540 79 
			 Cleveland 4,793 3,573 75 4,789 3,606 75 5,994 4,282 71 
			 Cumbria 3,507 2,684 77 3,595 2,887 80 3,540 2,876 81 
			 Derbyshire 5,318 3,914 74 5,429 4,218 78 5,614 4,670 83 
			 Devon and Cornwall 9,234 5,872 64 8,648 5,723 66 9,598 6,354 66 
			 Dorset 6,035 3,540 59 5,262 2,965 56 6,176 3,371 55 
			 Durham 5,470 4,328 79 5,394 4,343 81 5,840 4,614 79 
			 Essex 7,898 5,328 67 7,708 5,388 70 7,811 5,359 69 
			 Gloucestershire 4,174 2,539 61 4,683 2,677 57 4,417 2,286 52 
			 Greater Manchester 33,783 23,865 71 37,088 26,399 71 36,337 27,527 76 
			 Hampshire 10,559 7,535 71 10,349 7,614 74 10,912 8,063 74 
			 Hertfordshire 5,258 3,310 63 5,816 3,672 63 6,612 4,191 63 
			 Humberside 5,024 4,043 80 4,730 3,641 77 4,464 3,551 80 
			 Kent 9,033 6,408 71 9,592 7,042 73 10,059 7,697 77 
			 Lancashire 18,354 10,981 60 16,280 9,748 60 17,555 11,020 63 
			 Leicestershire 10,263 6,713 65 10,475 6,792 65 10,699 7,372 69 
			 Lincolnshire 4,500 3,307 73 4,083 2,956 72 4,242 3,057 72 
			 London, City of 1,738 776 45 1,826 1,020 56 2,353 1,330 57 
			 Merseyside 10,054 7,708 77 9,467 7,693 81 10,360 8,551 83 
			 Metropolitan Police 29,649 20,117 68 32,032 22,566 70 36,485 27,116 74 
			 Norfolk 3,951 2,844 72 4,744 3,033 64 5,563 3,590 65 
			 Northamptonshire 3,949 2,971 75 2,028 1,626 80 1,211 885 73 
			 Northumbria 13,195 9,385 71 12,504 9,184 73 12,309 9,286 75 
			 North Yorkshire 3,905 2,548 65 3,545 2,171 61 3,340 2,096 63 
			 Nottinghamshire 7,748 6,034 78 7,856 6,181 79 7,460 5,922 79 
			 South Yorkshire 12,690 8,871 70 14,623 10,079 69 13,859 9,975 72 
			 Staffordshire 8,777 6,740 77 6,027 4,678 78 7,056 5,723 81 
			 Suffolk 3,923 2,319 59 4,123 2,373 58 4,759 2,845 60 
			 Surrey 4,941 2,571 52 5,101 2,804 55 5,554 3,145 57 
			 Sussex 6,796 3,777 56 6,814 3,995 59 6,413 3,698 58 
			 Thames Valley 12,816 7,426 58 11,728 7,092 60 12,842 8,283 64 
			 Warwickshire 4,135 2,309 56 4,204 2,665 63 3,711 2,389 64 
			 West Mercia 7,686 5,512 72 7,787 5,731 74 7,849 5,812 74 
			 West Midlands 28,148 17,896 64 27,010 18,066 67 32,339 22,010 68 
			 West Yorkshire 26,529 15,476 58 27,618 15,842 57 24,873 13,952 56 
			 Wiltshire 4,901 2,620 53 5,292 3,264 62 5,326 3,162 59 
			 Dyfed-Powys 3,072 2,073 67 2,953 1,906 65 3,316 2,275 69 
			 Gwent 4,680 3,777 81 4,758 3,817 80 4,508 3,660 81 
			 North Wales 3,697 2,839 77 3,376 2,551 76 4,048 2,987 74 
			 South Wales 14,615 10,273 70 13,805 9,721 70 16,499 11,488 70 
			 England and Wales 391,659 262,915 67 388,298 264,869 68 410,398 286,123 70 
		
	
	
		
			  Number and percentage 
			   2003( 2)  2004  2005 
			Total findings of guilt   Total findings of guilt   Total findings of guilt 
			  Police force area  Total proceedings [=100%]  Number  Percentage  Total proceedings [=100%]  Number  Percentage  Total proceedings [=100%]  Number  Percentage 
			 Avon and Somerset 17,163 10,558 62 17,489 10,862 62 14,625 8,688 59 
			 Bedfordshire 5,041 3,490 69 4,534 3,190 70 4,776 3,334 70 
			 Cambridgeshire 3,301 2,694 82 3,120 2,654 85 3,371 2,827 84 
			 Cheshire 6,385 5,354 84 6,515 5,372 82 4,592 3,871 84 
			 Cleveland 5,575 3,980 71 6,597 5,080 77 4,611 3,819 83 
			 Cumbria 3,488 2,849 82 3,446 2,753 80 2,855 2,199 77 
			 Derbyshire 5,793 4,888 84 6,326 5,505 87 5,869 5,190 88 
			 Devon and Cornwall 9,676 6,608 68 8,943 6,178 69 7,404 5,241 71 
			 Dorset 7,034 4,263 61 6,075 3,618 60 5,752 3,584 62 
			 Durham 5,802 4,518 78 5,300 4,029 76 4,454 3,186 72 
			 Essex 7,489 5,440 73 7,132 5,323 75 7,035 5,413 77 
			 Gloucestershire 4,412 2,579 58 3,695 2,438 66 3,500 2,042 58 
			 Greater Manchester 38,208 29,559 77 34,942 26,722 76 30,280 22,869 76 
			 Hampshire 10,619 8,095 76 9,750 7,467 77 7,882 6,251 79 
			 Hertfordshire 7,216 5,078 70 7,463 5,382 72 7,763 5,716 74 
			 Humberside 5,509 4,411 80 5,170 4,298 83 4,840 4,136 85 
			 Kent 9,788 7,452 76 10,673 8,347 78 8,535 7,050 83 
			 Lancashire 21,229 13,689 64 16,065 9,948 62 17,960 10,945 61 
			 Leicestershire 11,304 8,066 71 10,833 7,790 72 7,306 5,340 73 
			 Lincolnshire 5,883 4,269 73 6,621 4,766 72 5,644 3,907 69 
			 London, City of 2,563 1,605 63 2,812 1,122 40 1,499 1,068 71 
			 Merseyside 12,776 10,627 83 13,023 10,385 80 10,728 8,757 82 
			 Metropolitan Police 43,100 31,463 73 47,806 36,465 76 47,223 36,033 76 
			 Norfolk 6,322 4,461 71 5,084 3,734 73 4,442 3,436 77 
			 Northamptonshire 4,157 3,242 78 5,804 4,641 80 4,441 3,606 81 
			 Northumbria 12,951 9,826 76 11,685 9,106 78 11,728 9,348 80 
			 North Yorkshire 3,774 2,353 62 4,065 2,508 62 3,865 2,569 66 
			 Nottinghamshire 9,224 7,609 82 9,224 7,755 84 7,358 6,299 86 
			 South Yorkshire 13,745 9,882 72 11,416 8,497 74 11,246 8,484 75 
			 Staffordshire 7,214 6,072 84 7,439 6,317 85 7,224 5,959 82 
			 Suffolk 5,808 3,579 62 5,718 3,541 62 4,279 2,738 64 
			 Surrey 4,657 2,880 62 3,927 2,581 66 4,491 2,874 64 
			 Sussex 5,808 3,665 63 4,371 3,068 70 4,569 3,370 74 
			 Thames Valley 14,516 9,718 67 12,920 9,144 71 11,255 7,887 70 
			 Warwickshire 3,756 2,899 77 4,160 3,433 83 3,469 2,958 85 
			 West Mercia 7,735 6,014 78 7,249 5,498 76 7,144 5,604 78 
			 West Midlands 36,409 25,370 70 39,696 27,453 69 34,786 24,890 72 
			 West Yorkshire 26,966 16,967 63 32,404 20,175 62 26,667 16,220 61 
			 Wiltshire 4,794 3,006 63 4,641 2,778 60 4,599 2,814 61 
			 Dyfed-Powys 3,094 2,236 72 2,244 1,645 73 2,639 1,890 72 
			 Gwent 4,083 3,448 84 3,474 2,961 85 3,241 2,761 85 
			 North Wales 5,968 4,523 76 6,022 4,773 79 4,211 3,331 79 
			 South Wales 16,932 11,650 69 15,946 11,143 70 12,605 8,694 69 
			 England and Wales 447,267 320,935 72 441,819 320,445 73 392,763 287,198 73 
			 (1) An offence under the Road Traffic Act 1988 s. 143 (2) (2) As from 1 June 2003, 'driving a motor vehicle while uninsured against third party risks' became a fixed penalty offence.  Notes: 1. It is known that for some police force areas, the reporting of court proceedings in particular those relating to summary motoring offences may be less than complete. 2. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table B: Average fine imposed( 1)  at magistrates courts for the offence of using a motor vehicle uninsured against third party risks( 2)  by police force area, England and Wales, 1997 to 2005 
			  £ 
			  Police force area  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003( 3)  2004  2005 
			 Avon and Somerset 259 204 165 182 130 133 138 154 154 
			 Bedfordshire 314 293 274 226 164 169 137 143 156 
			 Cambridgeshire 221 209 215 182 119 118 131 152 171 
			 Cheshire 274 248 237 211 149 153 167 179 190 
			 Cleveland 162 167 170 179 167 173 171 189 202 
			 Cumbria 150 171 220 265 152 151 159 169 171 
			 Derbyshire 270 279 283 296 337 355 367 367 376 
			 Devon and Cornwall 184 185 178 179 133 132 127 134 145 
			 Dorset 295 302 301 261 121 114 125 158 171 
			 Durham 181 177 194 160 118 122 121 116 123 
			 Essex 174 149 140 123 101 104 112 164 182 
			 Gloucestershire 154 202 247 240 91 86 133 147 143 
			 Greater Manchester 245 226 236 232 152 151 157 167 176 
			 Hampshire 132 135 138 136 119 122 124 131 138 
			 Hertfordshire 193 164 173 204 155 166 181 198 208 
			 Humberside 159 148 143 137 122 132 137 150 180 
			 Kent 246 241 227 271 209 192 191 197 204 
			 Lancashire 332 296 237 219 111 113 141 156 169 
			 Leicestershire 318 318 276 254 134 135 138 150 145 
			 Lincolnshire 159 197 209 188 133 134 148 179 185 
			 London, City of 332 314 346 375 369 368 334 230 198 
			 Merseyside 200 203 200 207 163 167 148 137 141 
			 Metropolitan Police 202 185 184 169 139 140 143 147 165 
			 Norfolk 242 256 265 210 99 107 139 152 152 
			 Northamptonshire 243 286 310 280 280 339 245 183 156 
			 Northumbria 136 146 148 144 130 135 135 137 142 
			 North Yorkshire 249 236 230 211 130 136 141 166 177 
			 Nottinghamshire 164 165 153 150 152 156 152 188 138 
			 South Yorkshire 194 206 191 170 128 137 146 125 147 
			 Staffordshire 251 228 234 198 152 163 166 186 230 
			 Suffolk 193 192 192 183 128 138 133 136 156 
			 Surrey 243 242 215 218 201 215 221 197 195 
			 Sussex 218 186 181 167 118 117 138 162 170 
			 Thames Valley 292 257 268 250 134 135 158 198 206 
			 Warwickshire 228 175 177 188 156 168 164 210 200 
			 West Mercia 268 282 282 263 176 180 165 193 208 
			 West Midlands 207 190 189 201 169 192 200 206 207 
			 West Yorkshire 255 242 242 209 120 123 134 144 144 
			 Wiltshire 152 182 186 204 283 286 280 200 208 
			 Dyfed-Powys 183 182 175 169 155 166 172 187 184 
			 Gwent 253 225 225 208 148 154 171 157 171 
			 North Wales 210 226 272 230 144 150 149 154 163 
			 South Wales 190 180 183 188 159 173 158 154 149 
			 England and Wales 224 214 212 203 150 155 160 169 177 
			 (1) Magistrates courts data only. Fines given at the Crown court total nationally (England and Wales) less than 10 each year. (2) An offence under the Road Traffic Act 1988 s. 143 (2) (3) As from 1 June 2003, 'driving a motor vehicle while uninsured against third party risks' became a fixed penalty offence.  Notes: 1. It is known that for some police force areas, the reporting of court proceedings in particular those relating to summary motoring offences may be less than complete. 2. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table C: Fixed Penalty Notices issued for the endorsable offence of 'driving a motor vehicle while uninsured against third party risks'( 1)  by police force area, England and Wales, 2003( 2)  to 2005 
			  Police force area  2003( 3)  2004  2005 
			 Avon and Somerset 5 47 63 
			 Bedfordshire — — 62 
			 Cambridgeshire — 63 53 
			 Cheshire — 40 101 
			 Cleveland 48 70 159 
			 Cumbria — — — 
			 Derbyshire — — — 
			 Devon and Cornwall — — 42 
			 Dorset — — —- 
			 Durham — — 7 
			 Essex — — 6 
			 Gloucestershire — — — 
			 Greater Manchester 9 44 13 
			 Hampshire — 111 125 
			 Hertfordshire 11 177 389 
			 Humberside — — — 
			 Kent 10 12 31 
			 Lancashire 42 91 174 
			 Leicestershire 34 62 19 
			 Lincolnshire — — — 
			 London, City of 2 21 9 
			 Merseyside — — — 
			 Metropolitan Police 43 147 490 
			 Norfolk — — — 
			 Northamptonshire 5 40 93 
			 Northumbria 38 7 4 
			 North Yorkshire 33 95 92 
			 Nottinghamshire 21 42 101 
			 South Yorkshire — — — 
			 Staffordshire 36 122 152 
			 Suffolk — — — 
			 Surrey — 0 — 
			 Sussex — — — 
			 Thames Valley —- — — 
			 Warwickshire 31 50 70 
			 West Mercia — — 32 
			 West Midlands — 37 — 
			 West Yorkshire 3 46 104 
			 Wiltshire — — — 
			 Dyfed-Powys — — — 
			 Gwent — — — 
			 North Wales 87 139 297 
			 South Wales — — — 
			 England and Wales 458 1,463 2,688 
			 1 An offence under the Road Traffic Act 1988 s. 143 (2) 2 As from 1 June 2003, 'driving a motor vehicle while uninsured against third party risks' became a fixed penalty offence.  Notes: 1. Offenders are subject to a £200 fixed penalty However this can be increased to a maximum of £5,000 if the matter goes to court. 2. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Education Act 2005

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded under the Education Act 2005 in each year since its entry into force, broken down by offence; and what percentage of these offences  (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators,  (b) led to a conviction and  (c) resulted in a sanction detection.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not available. Offences under this legislation are recorded in either the 'Disclosure, Obstruction, False or Misleading Statements' classification or in the 'Other indictable or triable either way offences' classification and cannot be separately identified from other offences within those classifications. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Gangmasters (Licensing) Act 2004

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded under the Gangmasters (Licensing) Act 2004 in each year since its entry into force, broken down by offence; and what percentage of these offences  (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators,  (b) led to a conviction and  (c) resulted in a sanction detection.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not available. Offences under this legislation are recorded in the 'other indictable or triable either way offences' classification and cannot be separately identified from other offences within that classification. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Genetics: Databases

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total costs were of running and maintaining the National DNA Database in each year since it began operation; and if she will make a statement.

Meg Hillier: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Bury St. Edmunds (Mr. Ruffley) on 19 February 2008,  Official Report, column 584W.

Genetics: Databases

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which organisations and companies analyse DNA samples in order to produce profiles for the national DNA database; and if she will make a statement.

Meg Hillier: The organisations that are at present accredited to provide DNA profiling services to the police forces of England and Wales are:
	Forensic Science Service Ltd;
	LGC Forensics;
	Orchid Cellmark; and
	Forensic DNA Services Ltd.
	The Channel Islands use the same suppliers as England and Wales. Northern Ireland samples are processed by Forensic Service Northern Ireland (FSNI). The forensic DNA analysis service for Scottish police forces is provided by four forensic science laboratories within the Scottish Police Services Authority (SPSA). The SPSA and FSNI laboratories are accredited to NDNAD Custodian standards, so that DNA profiles from Scotland and Northern Ireland can be loaded to the NDNAD as well as to the Scotland and Northern Ireland databases.

Grave Robbing

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences of removing corpses from graves have been recorded in each year since 1997; and what percentage of these offences  (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators,  (b) led to a conviction and  (c) resulted in a sanction detection.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not available. Offences of 'removing corpses from graves' are recorded in the 'other indictable or triable either way offences' classification and cannot be separately identified from other offences within that classification. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Heathrow Airport: Customs Officers

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Border and Immigration Agency staff were allocated to the EU channel at Heathrow airport on average each day  (a) in 2003-04,  (b) in 2006-07 and  (c) in 2007-08.

Liam Byrne: Immigration Officers are not allocated a duty at a particular channel of the Primary Arrivals Control at Heathrow airport; they serve the Border Control as a whole. Shift managers decide how many of the available staff should work in the EU or non-EU channels at any particular time in order to deal with approaching passengers as quickly and effectively as possible. The only constraint is that one officer must be on duty in each channel at all times when flights are landing. This flexibility makes the best use of available resources.

Immigration

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were granted  (a) limited and  (b) indefinite leave to remain in the UK in each of the last 10 years.

Liam Byrne: The latest available information on grants of limited leave and indefinite leave to remain in the UK can be found in the 2006 Command Paper "Control of Immigration: Statistics United Kingdom". This publication, and previous years, may be obtained from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics website:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html

Immigration

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 17 March 2008,  Official Report, columns 799-800W, on immigration, in how many of the 9,500 cases closed because of error the individual concerned had  (a) been granted status,  (b) been removed or  (c) died.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 25 March 2008
	The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Immigration Officers

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether her Department permits immigration officers to work  (a) six-day weeks and  (b) double shifts.

Liam Byrne: Immigration Officers do work double night shifts where necessary to meet operational demands. Six day weeks are performed on an exceptional basis.
	 Note
	"Immigration Officers" are purely those who held that particular grade during the period.

Immigration Officers

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate her Department has made of the average number of hours worked per week by immigration officers in each year since 1997.

Liam Byrne: The information requested could be obtained by the detailed examination of individual pay records only at disproportionate cost.

Immigration Officers: Conditions of Employment

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department has taken to monitor the views of  (a) immigration officers and  (b) other Border and Immigration Agency staff on their working practices and conditions; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: All Border and Immigration staff are currently being invited to participate in the Home Office staff survey. This is an attitudinal survey covering a range of issues including working practices and conditions. A random cross section of staff from the Border and Immigration Agency are asked to participate monthly in a pulse check survey that covers issues related to reform and working practices.

Immigration Officers: Heathrow Airport

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many immigration officers were in post at  (a) Heathrow and  (b) Gatwick airport on 31 December (i) 2007, (ii) 2006, (iii) 2005, (iv) 2004, (v) 2003, (vi) 2002 and (vii) 2001; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: I wrote to the hon. Member on 14 March 2008.

Immigration Officers: Sick Leave

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many immigration officers were granted sick leave for stress in each of the last five years.

Liam Byrne: The numbers of Immigration Officers(1) who have taken sick leave for stress in each of the last three calendar years, recorded on our personnel system (Adelphi) are shown in the following table.
	We are unable to provide accurate data previous to 2005 as these were not recorded centrally.
	(1)( )"Immigration Officers" are purely those who held that particular grade during the period.
	
		
			  Immigration Officers taking sick leave 
			   Number 
			 2005 109 
			 2006 91 
			 2007 141

Immigration: Fees and Charges

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will permit the fee for applying for indefinite leave to remain to be paid in instalments in exceptional circumstances.

Liam Byrne: Under the Fees Regulations, there are no circumstances in which the fee for a valid application for indefinite leave can be paid for in instalments.

Immigration: Fees and Charges

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will waive the requirement to pay the fee to apply for indefinite leave to remain in  (a) cases where someone was brought to the UK from a Commonwealth country as a child prior to 1981 but whose parents omitted to apply on their behalf for nationality and  (b) other exceptional cases.

Liam Byrne: We currently have no plans to waive the fee for application for indefinite leave to remain in cases where someone was brought to the UK from a commonwealth country as a child prior to 1981 or in other exceptional circumstances.

Immigration: Housing

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the Answer of 17 March 2008,  Official Report, column 806W, on immigration: housing, what the cost of providing assistance to local authorities through the transitional costs fund was; which local authorities have received such assistance; and how much was received in each case.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 25 March 2008
	A 'transitional costs fund' has been made available where unavoidable, additional expenses have occurred. Local authorities need to submit claims to this fund. Claims will then be assessed on an individual basis and local authorities will be reimbursed appropriately. As yet, this work is not complete.

Medicines (Homoeopathic Medicinal Products for Human Use) Amendment Regulations 2005

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded under the Medicines (Homoeopathic Medicinal Products for Human Use) Amendment Regulations 2005 in each year since their entry into force, broken down by offence; and what percentage of these offences  (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators,  (b) led to a conviction and  (c) resulted in a sanction detection.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not available. Offences under this legislation are recorded in the 'Other indictable or triable either way offences' classification and cannot be separately identified from other offences within that classification. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Medicines (Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products for Human Use) Regulations 2005

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded under the Medicines (Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products for Human Use) Regulations 2005 in each year since their entry into force, broken down by offence; and what percentage of these offences  (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators,  (b) led to a conviction and  (c) resulted in a sanction detection.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not available. Offences under this legislation are recorded in the 'Other indictable or triable either way offences' classification and cannot be separately identified from other offences within that classification. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Members: Correspondence

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects to answer Question 175239, tabled by the right hon. Member for Haltemprice and Howden on 13 December 2007.

Jacqui Smith: I replied to the right hon. Member on 10 March 2008,  Official Report, column 78W.

Members: Correspondence

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will ensure a response is provided urgently to the letters sent by the hon. Member for Castle Point to Mr. I. Teale of Managed Migration Liverpool, dated 18 February 2008 and 4 March 2008, regarding confirmation of right of abode.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 17 March 2008
	The Border and Immigration Agency wrote to the hon. Member on 10 March 2008 in response to the letter of 18 February. The letter of 4 March has not been received.

Ministers: Official Residences

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost to the public purse has been of the ministerial residence in South Eaton Place since the property was unoccupied.

Liam Byrne: I refer the hon. Member to my reply of 17 March 2008,  Official Report, column 807W.

Official Secrets Act 1911

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded under the Official Secrets Act 1911 in each year since 2002, broken down by offence; and what percentage of these offences  (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators,  (b) led to a conviction and  (c) resulted in a sanction detection.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not available. Offences under this legislation are recorded in the 'Other indictable or triable either way offences' classification and cannot be separately identified from other offences within that classification. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Passports: Glasgow

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of post office deliveries have been diverted to other passport offices from the Glasgow office since January 2008.

Meg Hillier: The requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Glasgow applications 
			   Number/percentage 
			 Diverted 28,258 
			 Total intake to Glasgow 73,462 
			 Percentage of intake leaving Glasgow 38.5

Pensions Act 2005

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded under the Pensions Act 2005 in each year since 2005, broken down by offence; and what percentage of these offences  (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators,  (b) led to a conviction and  (c) resulted in a sanction detection.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not available. Offences under this legislation are recorded in the 'Other indictable or triable either way offences' classification and cannot be separately identified from other offences within that classification. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Plant Protection Products Regulations 2005

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded under the Plant Protection Products Regulations 2005 in each year since their entry into force, broken down by offence; and what percentage of these offences  (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators,  (b) led to a conviction and  (c) resulted in a sanction detection.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not available. Offences under this legislation are recorded in the 'Other indictable or triable either way offences' classification and cannot be separately identified from other offences within that classification. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Police

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) regulations and  (b) guidance documents were issued to police forces by her Department in England and Wales in each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: Since 1997 the Government have enacted 12 pieces of police legislation which have effect in England and Wales, and several statutory instruments consequential to these, containing police regulations where appropriate. 65 Home Office circulars have also been issued in respect of these Acts.
	A document has been prepared with a full list of these statutory instruments and Home Office circulars, and will be placed in the Library of the House.

Police: ICT

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police forces  (a) have fully implemented and  (b) are piloting ExISS r1; how much has been spent on the programme in each year since 1997; and if she will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: I have been asked to reply.
	ExISS release 1 (which comprises both the police-CPS link and the police to magistrates court link) is currently being rolled out nationally and, as such, there are no pilot forces. As of the 19 March 2008, the police to CPS link had been rolled out to 13 police forces, while the police to magistrates court link had been rolled out to 17 police forces. The planned completion date for roll-out to all forces is December 2008.
	The Exchange Links programme (which delivers a number of links including release 1) commenced in July 2007 and the expected costs to December 2008 are £15.54 million, exclusive of ongoing run costs and costs associated with capital charges and depreciation.

Ports: Industrial Health and Safety

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which UK ports of entry do not have local health and safety policies in place for immigration officers and other Border and Immigration Agency staff in circumstances where those staff are not permanently based at the ports.

Liam Byrne: The Border and Immigration Agency (BIA) Health and Safety Unit provide a Health and Safety Policy for the whole of BIA, most recently published in September 2007. The large number of sites and the diverse activities within BIA necessitate directors to formulate local arrangements that ensure the requirements of the health and safety policy are met. Local arrangements are in place covering all UK ports and cover all staff as well as contactors and visitors.

Prisoner Escapes

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded for rescuing a prisoner in custody in each year since 1997; and what percentage of these offences  (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators,  (b) led to a conviction and  (c) resulted in a sanction detection.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not available. Offences of 'assisting prisoners to escape; are recorded in the 'other indictable or triable either way offences' classification and cannot be separately identified from other offences within that classification. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Protection from Harassment Act 1997

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 in each year since 2002, broken down by offence; and what percentage of these offences  (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators,  (b) led to a conviction and  (c) resulted in a sanction detection.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not available. Offences under this legislation are recorded in the 'Harassment' or the 'Racially or religiously aggravated harassment' offence classifications and cannot be separately identified from other offences within those classifications. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Representation of the People Act 1983

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded under the Representation of the People Act 1983 in each year since 2002, broken down by offence; and what percentage of these offences  (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators,  (b) led to a conviction and  (c) resulted in a sanction detection.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not available. Offences under this legislation are recorded in the 'Other indictable or triable either way offences' classification and cannot be separately identified from other offences within that classification. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Tax Credits Act 2002

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded under section 59 and Schedule 5 of the Tax Credits Act 2002 in each year since 2002; and what percentage of these offences  (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators,  (b) led to a conviction and  (c) resulted in a sanction detection.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not available. Offences under this legislation are recorded in the 'Disclosure, Obstruction, False or Misleading Statements' offence classification and cannot be separately identified from other offences within that classification. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Trade in Goods (Control) Order 2003

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded under the Trade in Goods (Control) Order 2003 in each year since its entry into force, broken down by offence; and what percentage of these offences  (a) resulted in court proceedings against suspected perpetrators,  (b) led to a conviction and  (c) resulted in a sanction detection.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not available. Offences under this legislation are recorded in either the 'Disclosure, Obstruction, False or Misleading Statements' classification or in the 'Other indictable or triable either way offences' classification and cannot be separately identified from other offences within those classifications. As a result, information on the percentage which resulted in court proceedings and convictions for those offences cannot be provided.

Wind Power

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department to which wind farm proposals her Department lodged objection in each of the last three years; and for what reasons in each case.

Liam Byrne: My Department holds no central records of objections that have been lodged by the Home Office with regard to wind farms. My Department is fully committed to meeting all the Government's targets on renewable energy.

Written Questions: Government Responses

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects to answer Question 184044, on binge drinking, tabled by the right hon. Member for Haltemprice and Howden on 30 January 2008.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 13 March 2008
	I replied to the right hon. Member on 10 March 2008,  Official Report, columns 70-71W.

BUSINESS, ENTERPRISE AND REGULATORY REFORM

Coal Fired Power Stations: Combined Heat and Power

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform 
	(1)  what recent representations he has received from industry bodies on the effect of combined heat and power technology on the fuel efficiency of coal-fired power plants;
	(2)  what representations he has received from environmental non-governmental organisations on the effects of combined heat and power on the fuel efficiency of coal-fired power plants.

Malcolm Wicks: I am not aware of any such representations regarding coal-fired stations in general.

Coal Fired Power Stations: Kingsnorth

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate he has made of the volume of carbon dioxide likely to be emitted per annum from the proposed Kingsnorth power station and associated operational activities; what discussions he has had on such estimates with  (a) Cabinet colleagues and  (b) other Government offices and agencies; what representations he has received on this matter and from whom; what estimate he has made of the effect of such emissions on performance against Government targets for greenhouse gas emissions; and on what evidential basis such estimates of potential carbon dioxide emissions from Kingsnorth were founded.

Malcolm Wicks: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has made no such formal estimate. We remain committed to meeting the UK's emissions targets. The EU Emissions Trading Scheme ensures that total carbon emissions across EU industry and power generation sectors are restricted by a cap. Any new coal plant in the UK would have to buy allowances to emit, ensuring that equivalent carbon savings are made elsewhere, which count under the Government's approach to carbon budgeting.
	No such discussions of the kind described have taken place. The Department has received many representations from a range of various groups and individuals on the issue of emissions to the atmosphere.

Coal Fired Power Stations: Kingsnorth

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when he expects that the proposed power station at Kingsnorth in Kent to become operational in terms of  (a) power generation and  (b) carbon capture and storage; and what representations he has received on this matter, and from whom.

Malcolm Wicks: The Environmental Impact Assessment which accompanied the application estimates that it would take approximately four years from the granting of any consents and licences before the proposed station started operating.
	It is not possible to say if or when carbon capture technology would be operational at the proposed station. Numerous representations from a range of various groups and individuals have been received on this matter.

Companies: Billing

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will commission an investigation into the policy of some major companies of extending their standard payment terms and its possible impact upon small business.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 25 March 2008
	The Department published research, commissioned from the Credit Management Research Centre, on payment trends in the UK earlier this month. The research suggested uncertainty about the timing of payments from trade debtors is more damaging for small firms than situations where the payment delay is long but certain. The Enterprise Strategy published on 12 March announced that the Department will, over the next six months, explore non-legislative approaches to tackling late payment issues.

Companies: Data Protection

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate he has made of the number of UK businesses which have transferred data centres offshore in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: The Government do not collect data about the extent of offshoring and have not made any estimate of the extent of offshoring of data centres. However, research that has been conducted and data about the relocation of businesses, such as the European Reconstruction Monitor, suggests that offshoring has been relatively limited in recent years and has not had an adverse impact on overall UK employment.
	It is, of course, important that companies carefully consider the business case for relocating activities, including all the costs and risks of offshoring. This includes ensuring that data is kept secure; companies that offshore activities remain bound by the requirements of the UK's Data Protection Act. Companies also have a responsibility to engage in a transparent dialogue with employees affected by relocation decisions. But, companies must be allowed to decide the best course of action to remain competitive.

Departmental Consultants

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform which external consultancy received the largest number of contracts from his Department in each of the last 10 years; and what the value of those contracts was.

Gareth Thomas: Central records indicate the external consultancies receiving the highest payments by value in each financial year are:
	
		
			£ 
			   Consultancy  Payment 
			 2003-04 Fujitsu Services Ltd 241,380 
			 2004-05 Fujitsu Services Ltd 2,081,201 
			 2005-06 Deloitte and Touche LLP 4,606,297 
			 2006-07 Deloitte and Touche LLP 3,424,964 
			 2007-08 Serco Ltd (1)5,006,857 
			 (1) To date 
		
	
	Further information prior to 2003-04 is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental ICT

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many of his Department's personal digital assistants were  (a) lost and  (b) stolen in each of the last five years; and what the value of those items was.

Gareth Thomas: A breakdown of lost/stolen PDAs is provided in the following table for the past five years.
	My Department's records do not readily differentiate between items reported as lost or stolen.
	
		
			  £ 
			   PDAs reported missing  Approximate cumulative value( 1) 
			 2007 — — 
			 2006 1 270.00 
			 2005 3 900.00 
			 2004 1 300.00 
			 2003 1 300.00 
			 (1) January to December

Departmental Recruitment

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform whether the policy of British jobs for British workers will affect his Department's recruitment policy.

Gareth Thomas: The Department will apply the civil service nationality rules in respect of eligibility for employment in all recruitment and appointment procedures. These rules are statutorily based and supported by the Civil Service Commissioners' Rules.

Departmental Travel

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how much his Department and its agencies spent on first class travel in the last 12 months for which figures are available, broken down by staff grade of traveller.

Gareth Thomas: The amount spent on first class travel by BERR, and previously by DTI in the period February 2007 to January 2008 was £1,376,675.
	Travel undertaken by BERR staff is not recorded separately by grade. To obtain the requested information would entail disproportionate costs.
	All travel is undertaken in accordance with the Civil Service Management Code and the Ministerial Code, and is made in the most efficient and cost effective way.

Digital Broadcasting

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment he has made of  (a) the impact of the digital dividend review on (i) wireless microphones and (ii) in-ear monitors on completion of digital switchover and  (b) the potential to encourage licensed usage.

Malcolm Wicks: The matter raised is the responsibility of the independent regulator, the Office of Communications (Ofcom), which is accountable to Parliament rather than Ministers. Accordingly, I have asked the Chief Executive of Ofcom to reply directly to the hon. Member. Copies of the chief executive's letter will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Energy: Meters

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform 
	(1)  what his most recent assessment is of the  (a) costs and  (b) benefits of a national delivery plan for smart metering;
	(2)  what conclusions were made following the review of smart metering conducted for his Department by Mott MacDonald; and if he will publish the outcomes of the review.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 20 March 2008
	My Department is finalising its impact assessment of smart metering, including costs and benefits. We are testing our assessment and the assumptions underpinning it with interested parties, and will publish our assessment when that process has been completed. We will also publish the analysis undertaken by Mott MacDonald.

Eurostar

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how much his Department and its agencies spent on  (a) first class and  (b) other travel by Eurostar in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Gareth Thomas: The amount spent on travel by Eurostar by BERR, and previously by DTI in the last 12 months was:
	February 2007 to January 2008—£528,329
	The proportion of this expenditure on first class travel was 77 per cent. (£407, 276).
	All travel is undertaken in accordance with the Civil Service Management Code and the Ministerial Code.

Fuel Poverty: Elderly

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many pensioners aged  (a) 60 to 70,  (b) 71 to 80,  (c) 81 to 90 and  (d) 90 and over were classified as living in fuel poverty in (i) Ribble Valley constituency, (ii) Lancashire and (iii) nationally in each of the last five years.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 17 March 2008
	Splits of the level of fuel poverty by the age of the Household Reference Person (HRP) or age of the youngest/oldest member of the household are not available at a sub-national level. The detailed tables which accompany the "Fuel Poverty Strategy Report" hold information on household composition split by HRP and age of the youngest/oldest member of the household on national level only. These data are published annually with the earliest figures covering 2003, the latest figures cover 2005. It is available online through http://www.berr.gov.uk/energy/fuel-poverty/index.html. The following table holds extracted details:
	
		
			   Fuel poor households in group 
			   Thousand 
			   2003  2004  2005 
			  Household  c omposition (of primary benefit unit)
			 Couple, no dependent child(ren), aged 60 or over 138 134 210 
			 One person aged 60 or over 463 450 551 
			  Age of youngest person in household
			 60-74 287 278 390 
			 75 or over 302 292 357 
			 
			  Age of oldest person in household
			 60-74 306 286 383 
			 75-84 245 223 307 
			 85 or more 83 95 104

Fuel Poverty: Lancashire

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many  (a) households including at least one child and  (b) households were classified as living in fuel poverty in (i) Ribble Valley constituency, (ii) Lancashire and (iii) nationally in each of the last five years.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 17 March 2008
	Splits of the level of fuel poverty by the household composition of the primary benefit unit or age of the youngest/oldest member of the household are not available at a sub-national level. The detailed tables which accompany the "Fuel Poverty Strategy Report" hold information on household composition of the primary benefit unit and age of the youngest/oldest member of the household on national level only. These data are published annually with the earliest figures covering 2003, the latest figures cover 2005. They are available online through http://www.berr.gov.uk/energy/fuel-poverty/index.html. The following table holds extracted details:
	
		
			   F uel poor households in group 
			   Thousand 
			   2003  2004  2005 
			 Household Composition (of primary benefit unit) — — — 
			 Couple with dependent child(ren) 53 54 83 
			 Lone parent with dependent child(ren) 98 91 116 
		
	
	Regional estimates of fuel poverty are available only for England in 2003 and are taken from the Fuel Poverty Indicator (FPI) dataset available online at http://www.fuelpovertyindicator.org.uk/. This estimates that there were 2,400 fuel poor households in Ribble Valley and 39,300 in Lancashire.
	National fuel poverty rates are published annually and are again available online through the BERR website at http://www.berr.gov.uk/energy/fuel-poverty/index.html.
	The report shows the following table outlining national level of fuel poverty since 1996:
	
		
			  Number of households in fuel poverty (million) 
			   1996  1998( 1)  2001  2002( 1)  2003  2004  2005 
			 England 5.1 (5.5) 3.4 (4.0) 1.7 (2.3) 1.4 (2.0) 1.2 (1.5) 1.2 (1.5) 1.5 (1.8) 
			 Scotland 0.7 — — 0.3 0.4 0.4 — 
			 Wales — 0.4 — — — 0.1 — 
			 Northern Ireland — — 0.2 — — 0.2 — 
			 UK estimate (approx.) 6&frac12; 4&frac34; 2&frac12; 2&frac14; 2 2 2&frac12; 
			  (7&frac12;) (5&frac34;) (3&frac12;) (2&frac34;) (2&frac12;) (2&frac12;) (3) 
			 (1) Figures for England in 1998 and 2002 are estimates based on movements in energy prices, incomes and energy efficiency. Figures in brackets do not include housing benefit/ISMI as part of income.

Internet: Fraud

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what recent estimate he has made of the cost to business of  (a) internet fraud and  (b) malicious computer security breaches.

Malcolm Wicks: BERR does not collect information in this way. The Department works with business to produce a biennial Information Security Breaches Survey. The Survey is intended to raise awareness of the importance of effective information security management. The Surveys do not set out to survey or measure the costs of internet fraud or malicious computer security breaches but to research the costs of all information security breaches. Based on information gathered for the 2006 Survey, the figures indicated that serious security incidents cost on average between £8,000 and £17,000 per incident in 2005.
	Work is almost complete on the 2008 Information Security Breaches Survey and the results will be announced at Infosecurity Europe on 22 April. The Survey will present up to date information on the costs of information security breaches.

Joint Frequency Management Group: Conditions of Employment

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what arrangements will be made for the handling of employment contracts of employees of the Joint Frequency Management Group following the introduction of a commercial bank manager; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: The matter raised is the responsibility of the independent regulator, the Office of Communications (Ofcom), which is accountable to Parliament rather than Ministers. Accordingly, I have asked the chief executive of Ofcom to reply directly to the hon. Member. Copies of the chief executive's letter will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Members: Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when he will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire dated 5 February on premium rate SMS services.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 14 March 2008
	I apologise for the delay in responding to the hon. Member. A letter was sent to the hon. Member on 17 March 2008.

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform with reference to the announcement of 6 March on market engagement of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, what discussions he has had with the Authority on the assets to be included in the list of assets and activities in which interested parties are invited to express an interest.

Malcolm Wicks: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has had no discussions with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) about potential market interest in its assets and activities.
	As stated in the announcement on 6 March, the NDA is trying to gauge the market interest in its assets, consistent with its requirement to ensure maximum value to the taxpayer. Interested parties should respond to the NDA by 3 April, but no final decision has been taken on whether any assets will be sold.

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what discussions he has held with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority on the inclusion of the  (a) thermal oxide reprocessing plant and  (b) Sellafield MOX plant in the list of assets to be offered for sale by the Authority.

Malcolm Wicks: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has had no discussions with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) about the Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant (THORP) and the Sellafield MOX Plant (SMP) in relation to the market engagement announcement.
	As stated in the announcement on 6 March, the NDA is trying to gauge the market interest in its assets, consistent with its requirement to ensure maximum value to the taxpayer. Interested parties should respond to the NDA by 3 April, but no final decision has been taken on whether any assets will be sold. THORP and SMP are not included in the list of assets for sale.

Nuclear Power Stations: Security

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment he has made of the likely security of future generation of nuclear power stations against accident or deliberate attack.

Malcolm Wicks: As part of the consultation on the Future of Nuclear Power, the Government carefully considered the security and safety of new nuclear power stations. Having reviewed the arguments and evidence put forward and based on the advice on independent regulators, and the advances in the designs of power stations that might be proposed by energy companies, the Government set out in their White Paper that they continues to believe that nuclear power stations pose very small risks to safety and security.
	We also believe that the UK has an effective regulatory framework that ensures these risks are minimised and sensibly managed by industry. The White Paper said that we will work with the independent regulators to explore ways of further enhancing the transparency and efficiency of the regulatory regime, without diminishing its effectiveness in dealing with the challenges of new build.

Offshore Drilling: Nature Conservation

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will take steps to prevent oil and gas extraction from affecting the Moray Firth Dolphin Sanctuary; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 20 March 2008
	 I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Ceredigion (Mark Williams) on 3 March 2008,  Official Report, column 2236W.

Offshore Industry: Natural Gas

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the Government's policy is on the reduction of offshore gas flaring.

Malcolm Wicks: BERR restricts flaring of UK offshore gas where it is technically possible and economically sensible to do so. All offshore flaring is tightly controlled by the issue of flaring consents and, since the start of this year, flaring is also included in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. We continue to look for ways to keep offshore flaring to a minimum.
	Through the European Union, the UK supports the World Bank-led Global Gas Flaring Reduction partnership which, by sharing global best practices and implementing country specific programmes, facilitates and supports national efforts to use currently flared gas by promoting effective regulatory frameworks and tackling the constraints on gas utilisation, such as insufficient infrastructure and poor access to local and international energy markets, particularly in developing countries.

Radio: Illegal Broadcasting

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many  (a) prosecutions and  (b) convictions there were in 2006 in relation to pirate radio stations and illegal radio broadcasts.

Malcolm Wicks: I am informed by the Office of Communications (Ofcom) that in 2006 they brought forward 62 prosecutions and secured 62 convictions under the Wireless Telegraphy Acts 1949 and 2006 for illegal broadcasting.
	Statistics on prosecution cases concluded in the courts may be found on the Ofcom website at:
	http://www.ofcom.org.uk/radiocomms/ifi/enforcement/

Radioactive Materials: Shipping

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what minimum safety and security requirements apply to vessels carrying nuclear material by sea for a distance of  (a) less and  (b) more than 500 miles.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 20 March 2008
	 The security of nuclear material on board a UK-flagged vessel is regulated by the Office for Civil Nuclear Security (OCNS) in accordance with the Nuclear Industries Security Regulations 2003 (NISR). These regulations, which ensure that the UK's obligations under the Convention on the Physical Protection on Nuclear Material (CPPNM) are met and which take full account of international recommendations in this area, are supplemented by a Technical Requirements Document which details minimum security standards. This document is protectively marked; it is not Government policy to release precise details of security measures since this information could be of use to those with malicious intent.
	In terms of security arrangements for the transport of nuclear material, distance is not the factor which sets the level of security. The overall security posture will be dictated by the category of the material being carried and the threat pertaining. The mode(s) of transport, packages to be used and other physical, procedural and administrative measures based on the principles of defence-in-depth and graded approach will also be relevant in designing a security system combining deterrence, detection, delay and response measures, complemented by other measures for mitigating the consequences of malicious acts, including recovery and for minimizing the radiological consequences of any theft, sabotage or other malicious act.
	Vessels transporting nuclear material by sea are required to operate in compliance with the requirements of prevailing international law on the safety of ships, most notably the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS, found at http://www.imo.org/Conventions/contents.asp?topic_id=257&doc_id=647). Additionally they are required to comply with supplementary measures contained in the International Code for the Safe Carriage of Packaged Irradiated Fuel, Plutonium and High Level Radioactive Wastes on board ships (the INF code, found at http://www.imo.org/Safety/mainframe.asp ?topic_id=354) which deal specifically with the carriage of nuclear material.

Radioactive Materials: Transport

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what guidance he has issued to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority on the arrangements for the transportation of plutonium dioxide powder by  (a) land and  (b) sea; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 20 March 2008
	 It is a regulatory requirement that any transport of category I civil nuclear material is conducted in accordance with a Transport Security Plan (TSP) to be submitted by the approved carrier in accordance with the requirements of the Nuclear Industries Security Regulations 2003. The TSP must be approved by the regulator, the Office for Civil Nuclear Security (OCNS). These plans take full account of all relevant national regulations, international standards and obligations regarding the carriage of nuclear material and OCNS approval will not be given until it is satisfied that all security measures are adequately robust.
	Packages for transporting plutonium oxide powder are approved by the Department for Transport to a standard that is set by the International Atomic Energy Agency. Vessels for transporting plutonium oxide are approved to a standard set by the International Maritime Organisation.

Renewable Energy: Rural Areas

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what recent discussions he has had with Ofgem on connection charges for green energy projects in remote areas; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: My officials met with Ofgem on 3 October 2007 and 29 January 2008 to discuss connection charges for renewable energy projects in the Scottish Islands—these discussions covered Ofgem's consultation on delivering island connection infrastructure, National grid's review of security standards (the SQSS review) and the power to adjust transmission charges for renewable projects in remote areas provided in section 185 of the Energy Act 2004.

Sellafield

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what discussions he has had with the consortiums bidding for the Sellafield nuclear clean-up on the timetable for selecting the preferred bidder and awarding the contract; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has had no discussions with the bidders on any aspect of the competition for the Sellafield Parent Body Organisation (PBO). To do so would be completely inappropriate.
	On 21 December 2007, as planned, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) announced that invitations to submit final tenders had been issued for the Sellafield PBO. This followed the completion of eight months of competitive dialogue with the four bidders. Responses are scheduled to be returned to the NDA in spring 2008, and an announcement of the winning PBO bidder is expected to be made in summer 2008.

Sexual Harassment

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many complaints of  (a) sexual harassment and  (b) sexual discrimination have been made by staff in (i) his Department and (ii) its agencies in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Gareth Thomas: In the calendar year 2007, the most recent for which figures are available, there have been less than five sexual harassment and sexual discrimination complaints made by staff. Further information cannot be provided on grounds of confidentiality.

Supermarkets

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform whether he plans to implement the recommendation of the Competition Commission to establish a supermarket ombudsman.

Gareth Thomas: The Competition Commission has not yet published its final findings and remedies in regard to its inquiry into the UK grocery market. A supermarket ombudsman is just one proposal currently under consideration. The Government will reflect on and respond to the Competition Commission's final report which is expected in May.

Telephone Numbering: Data Protection

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform which public authorities, other than police forces and the ambulance service, have access to the ex-directory telephone database.

Malcolm Wicks: Ex-directory telephone information is available on the databases that are maintained on behalf of the emergency services namely the police, fire and ambulance services and the maritime and coastguard services. Such information may also be accessed using the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) by a variety of public authorities and through the Social Security Fraud Act 2000 (SSFA) by the Department for Work and Pensions and its agencies.

Utilities: Prices

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what steps his Department has taken to regulate utility bill price increases for low income households over the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: Neither the Government nor Ofgem regulate overall prices in the energy supply markets, which are competitive markets.
	In the Energy White Paper, we called for suppliers to increase their help to vulnerable customers. The level of help has now increased from £40 million to £56 million during winter 2007-08 with around 700,000 households benefiting.
	However, the Government believe that, given recent rises in energy prices coupled with a growing global demand for fossil fuels, vulnerable households need further help. We will continue discussions with the energy companies and Ofgem with the aim of delivering a fair programme of assistance for vulnerable households. Our aim is to increase the level of assistance from £56 million a year to £150 million a year. The Government are prepared to introduce legislation, if necessary, designed to enable it to require energy companies to make a fair contribution.

Waste Management

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will take steps to investigate the dumping of Chinese air compressors in the EU.

Gareth Thomas: On 17 March the Council of Ministers agreed a proposal from the European Commission to impose anti-dumping duties on imports of certain types of air compressor originating in the People's Republic of China. The measures will come into force on 20 March and last for two years.

INNOVATION, UNIVERSITIES AND SKILLS

Adult Education

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many adults are currently enrolled in  (a) part-time and  (b) full-time level 3 courses.

Bill Rammell: There were 242,100 adults on LSC-funded full level 3 courses in 2006/07, the latest year available. The following table provides breakdowns by further education, work-based learning and Train to Gain. Full-time and part-time breakdowns are only relevant to learning in further education.
	
		
			  Learners aged 19+ in 2006/07 
			   Number 
			 Total 242,100 
			   
			  Further education  
			 Total 155,600 
			 Full-time 60,300 
			 Part-time 95,200 
			   
			 Work-based learning 73,600 
			   
			 Train to Gain 12,800 
			  Source: Learning and Skills Council Statistical First Release ILR/SFR14, December 2007

Apprentices: West Midlands

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what steps his Department has taken in Staffordshire and the West Midlands to increase the number of apprenticeships.

Bill Rammell: West Midlands Learning and Skills Council works with employers across the region to increase the number of people starting and completing Apprenticeships. It plans to increase Apprenticeships by around 4 per cent. in 2008/09. Projections are for 12,550 Apprenticeship starts with 8,415 completions and a further 5,620 Advanced Apprenticeship starts with 3,385 completions in 2008/09. The overall completion rate will be 65 per cent. which represents a rise of 3 per cent. on the projected 2007/08 level.
	The increase in Apprenticeships in the West Midlands will be achieved by re-directing funding to high performing providers, introducing the Apprenticeship matching service, developing closer employer engagement, removing support for poorly performing provision and introducing new opportunities for young people to prepare to undertake an Apprenticeship.

Aviation

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much his Department and its predecessor spent on  (a) business and  (b) first class air travel in the last 12 months.

Bill Rammell: The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills was created as a result of Machinery of Government changes in June 2007. Information on travel expenditure to this detail is not collected centrally in the Department. This information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, year to date, the Department has spent £276,455 on air travel.

Civil Service Appeal Board

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many and what percentage of appeals by employees of  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies were (i) heard and (ii) upheld by the Civil Service Appeal Board in each of the last 10 years; how much was awarded in compensation by the Board to each successful appellant in each year; what the reason was for each compensation award; how many appellants were reinstated by the Board in each year; and what the reason was for each (A) dismissal and (B) reinstatement.

Bill Rammell: It is not possible to provide the response for the period prior to the creation of this Department as part of the Machinery of Government changes on 28 June 2007. However, since then there have been no instances of appeals by employees being lodged with the Civil Service Appeal Board for decision.

Departmental Accountancy

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what items of his Department's (a) revenue and  (b) expenditure are uprated using (i) the consumer prices index, (ii) the retail prices index and (iii) other measures of inflation.

Bill Rammell: The Department uses a range of indices in order to uprate payments. Decisions on the appropriate indices to use are devolved to the individual business units within the Department and this information can be gathered only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Cost Effectiveness

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what progress his Department has made in its zero-based budget review under the Comprehensive Spending Review.

Bill Rammell: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the Annex pertaining to the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills in "Meeting the aspirations of the British people: the 2007 Pre-Budget Report and Comprehensive Spending Review" (Cm 7227).
	Further detail on the "Value for Money" gains described in the Annex were published on the Department's web site in December 2007 in the "Value for Money Delivery Agreement".

Departmental Empty Property

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what estimate he has made of the sums to be paid by his Department in unoccupied property rates in  (a) 2007-08 and  (b) 2008-09.

Bill Rammell: The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills does not expect to pay anything in respect of unoccupied property rates for 2007-08 and 2008-09.

Departmental Internet

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills if his Department will  (a) follow the Internet Content Rating Association (ICRA) guidelines and  (b) display ICRA's label on the websites for which it is responsible.

Bill Rammell: The Government are committed to safety online for all users, including children. The Central Office for Information is preparing a new set of guidance for many aspects of the Government web estate and we will implement what they mandate.

Departmental Manpower

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills when his Department's whistleblowing procedures were reviewed to reflect the provisions in the revised civil service code.

Bill Rammell: DIUS have not yet established their own whistleblowing procedures. Ex DfES staff in DIUS raise whistleblowing concerns with DCSF. Ex DTI staff raise concerns with BERR.

Departmental Plants

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much his Department has spent on pot plants since it was established.

Bill Rammell: The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills was created as a result of machinery of government changes in June 2007. Since its establishment the Department has not spent any money on pot plants.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what changes have been made to his Department's budget since the publication of the comprehensive spending review conclusions on 9th October.

Bill Rammell: Since the publication of the comprehensive spending review conclusions on 9 October there has been no change in the Department's budget.

Departmental Public Participation

Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much his Department has spent on  (a) citizens' juries,  (b) focus groups and  (c) other deliberative forms of public opinion research in each month since January 2006.

Bill Rammell: The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills was created at the end of June 2007. Since then, the Department has paid to Sciencewise projects (Sciencewise is a programme funded by the Government to help policy makers find out people's views on emerging areas of science and technology so that they can take these into account when making national policy decisions) the following amounts, broken down by month:
	
		
			   £ 
			  Month  Spend 
			 July 2007 98,652.19 
			 August 2007 6,378.22 
			 September 2007 60,000.00 
			 October 2007 36,067.93 
			 November 2007 3,177.92 
			 December 2007 19,847.47 
			 January 2008 0 
			 February 2008 22,437.64 
		
	
	The Department has also held five student juries as preliminary work to the National Student Forum which took place on the following dates and locations:
	
		
			  Date  Location 
			 30 November 2007 London 
			 28 January 2008 Manchester 
			 31 January 2008 London 
			 1 February 2008 Bristol 
			 4 February 2008 Sheffield 
		
	
	The costs for these juries totalled just over £30,600.

Departmental Publicity

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much  (a) has been spent and  (b) is planned to be spent on establishing his Department and its corporate identity.

Bill Rammell: The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) was created as a result of Machinery of Government changes in June 2007. The cost of creating the Department and its corporate identity has been met from the existing baseline. From this baseline, a budget of £60,000 was earmarked for the task, of which £33,557 has been spent.

Departmental Recycling

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what weight of paper his Department recycled in each of the last five years.

Bill Rammell: As the Department was only formed on 28 June 2007 we do not have five years of waste recycling to report on.

Departmental Redundancy

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills 
	(1)  what the cost was of redundancies in his Department in the 12 months preceding  (a) 30 June 2004,  (b) 30 June 2005 and  (c) 30th June 2006;
	(2)  when he will answer Question 175332 on the cost of redundancies in his Department tabled by the hon. Member for Fareham on 13 December 2007.

Bill Rammell: The Department was created as part of the Machinery of Government changes on 28 June 2007. In the period since it was formed there have been no redundancies affecting employees of the Department.

Departmental Sick Leave

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many staff in his Department  (a) were disciplined and  (b) had their employment terminated as a result of a poor sickness record in each of the last five years.

Bill Rammell: The information requested is as follows:
	
		
			   Staff disciplined  Employment terminated 
			 2006 1 1 
			 2005 1 1 
			 2004 2 1 
			 2003 0 0 
			 2002 0 0

Departmental Temporary Employment

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what average hourly rate his Department paid to employment agencies for agency staff in each year since 1999, broken down by employment agency.

Bill Rammell: It is not possible to provide this information without incurring disproportionate costs of collection. Since the Department was formed by machinery of government changes on 28 June 2007 it has continued to make use of the services of temporary staff from agencies. Preferential rates of pay and terms of engagement have been negotiated with certain selected agencies under an over-arching framework agreement. This procurement process has the purpose of achieving best value for money and is used across Government.

Eurostar

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much his Department has spent on  (a) first and  (b) other class travel by Eurostar since establishment.

Bill Rammell: The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills was created as a result of Machinery of Government changes in June 2007. Information on travel expenditure to this detail is not collected centrally in the Department. This information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, since establishment, the Department has spent £117,940 on rail travel.

Fair Trade Initiative

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills if he will take steps to promote Fairtrade Fortnight 2008 amongst staff within his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: This Department's accommodation, facilities management, catering and events hospitality are provided on our behalf as a shared service by the Department for Children Schools and Families and the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. The answers given by those Departments will therefore cover this Department also.

Foundation Degrees: Admissions

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many people have applied to join foundation degree courses in each year since 2001; and how many such applications were successful in each such year.

Bill Rammell: The latest available published figures from UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service) are shown in the table. The figures relate to numbers of applications rather than applicants and numbers of accepted applicants to full-time foundation degree courses and exclude applications to part-time courses and direct to institutions. Each applicant can apply to up to six courses.
	
		
			  Number of UK and overseas domiciled applications and accepted applicants to foundation degree courses in the UK—years of entry 2002 to 2007 
			  Year of entry  Applications( 1)  Accepted applicants 
			 2002(2) n/a 2,699 
			 2003 12,391 5,596 
			 2004 17,246 8,853 
			 2005 30,812 12,511 
			 2006 40,818 14,673 
			 2007 48,366 18,194 
			 n/a = Not available (1) As each applicant may apply to up to six different courses/institutions, these applications figures will be larger than those for applicants. (2) Figures for the number of applications to foundation degree courses in the 2002 year of entry have not been published by UCAS.  Source: Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). 
		
	
	Currently, there are almost 71,000 people studying foundation degrees. We are therefore making good progress towards achieving our target participation rate of 100,000 by 2010. We are committed to foundation degrees as a key vehicle for HE expansion as they are precisely the type of business-facing, demand-led provision which is helping employers to address higher level skill needs.

Higher Education: Admissions

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills pursuant to the Answer of 4 March 2008,  Official Report, column 2434W, on high education: admissions, if he will provide a break down of the information in the Answer by  (a) full-time undergraduate students taking a first degree,  (b) part-time undergraduate students taking a first degree,  (c) full-time undergraduate students taking a second degree,  (d) part-time undergraduate students taking a second degree,  (e) full-time students taking a postgraduate degree and  (f) part-time students taking a postgraduate degree.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 17 March 2008
	The latest available information is given in the following tables. Table 1 covers full-time entrants and table 2 covers part-time entrants. Comparable figures for the 2007/08 academic year will be available in January 2009.
	
		
			  Table 1—full-time entrants( 1)  to higher education courses at English higher education institutions( 2)  by age( 3)  and level of study—academic years 2001/02 to 2006/07 
			   17 to 21  Over 21 
			   First Degree First Degree
			  Academic year  On 1( st)  Degree( 4)  On 2( nd)  Degree( 5)  Other UG( 6)  Post graduate  Total  On 1( st)  Degree( 4)  On 2( nd)  Degree( 5)  Other UG  Post graduate  Total 
			 2001/02 223,515 1,740 28,000 13,305 266,565 47,460 4,105 23,645 89,685 164,890 
			 2002/03 234,640 1,885 26,135 14,260 276,915 50,550 5,260 25,375 103,075 184,260 
			 2003/04 238,230 2,150 25,410 14,385 280,175 51,585 6,405 26,190 111,715 195,895 
			 2004/05 242,625 2,545 25,075 14,435 284,680 50,420 7,200 26,370 112,850 196,835 
			 2005/06 259,250 2,720 24,965 14,815 301,745 50,365 7,800 27,200 114,490 199,850 
			 2006/07 251,845 2,770 25,290 15,790 295,695 47,605 6,800 24,730 117,560 196,695 
			 (1) Includes students from the UK and overseas. (2) Excludes the Open university. (3) Excludes a small number of students with an unknown age or an age less than 17 (this was less than 0.6 per cent. in 2006/07). (4) Includes entrants to first degree courses who do not already have qualifications of first degree level or higher. (5) Includes entrants to first degree courses who already have qualifications of first degree level or higher. (6) Figures for entrants to other undergraduate courses (such as HMD, HNC) have been included for completeness.  Note: Figures are given on a HESA Standard Registration Population and are rounded to the nearest five.  Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2—part-time entrants( 1)  to higher education courses at English higher education institutions( 2)  by age( 3)  and level of study—academic years 2001/02 to 2006/07 
			   17 to 21  Over 21 
			   First Degree First Degree
			  Academic year  On 1( st)  Degree( 4)  On 2( nd)  Degree( 5)  Other UG  Post graduate  Total  On 1( st)  Degree( 4)  On 2( nd)  Degree( 5)  Other UG  Post graduate  Total 
			 2001/02 2,825 50 13,165 1,320 17,360 24,370 2,860 152,860 82,480 262,570 
			 2002/03 2,925 110 13,420 1,070 17,525 24,820 2,935 157,640 84,930 270,320 
			 2003/04 2,770 185 13,490 1,315 17,765 23,345 3,455 159,985 86,330 273,115 
			 2004/05 3,040 210 15,385 1,425 20,055 22,360 3,960 158,395 87,710 272,425 
			 2005/06 3,310 160 16,175 1,395 21,045 22,645 4,330 158,865 87,880 273,720 
			 2006/07 3,925 220 20,115 1,655 25,920 20,300 3,745 150,720 88,445 263,210 
			 (1) Includes students from the UK and overseas. (2) Excludes the Open university. (3) Excludes a small number of students with an unknown age or an age less than 17 (this was less than 0.6 per cent. in 2006/07). (4) Includes entrants to first degree courses who do not already have qualifications of first degree level or higher. (5) Includes entrants to first degree courses who already have qualifications of first degree level or higher.  Note: Figures are given on a HESA standard registration population and are rounded to the nearest five.  Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)

Higher Education: Finance

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what proportion of  (a) part-time and  (b) full-time students enrolled on full-time level 3 courses have their fees paid for by their employers.

Bill Rammell: Through the Train to Gain Programme, we are committed to ensuring that FE colleges are increasingly responsive to employers' needs and provide training in which employers will increasingly choose to invest. We do not currently routinely collect information on payment of fees by employers, but some information is available from surveys of learners. The last such survey was of learners who completed an FE course in 2003/04. It found that 30 per cent. of the learners doing full level 3 courses said their course fees were paid for by their employer, compared with 18 per cent. of non-full level 3 FE learners.

Members: Correspondence

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills when he plans to reply to the letter of 11 December 2007 from the right hon. Member for Banff and Buchan regarding his constituent L. Flack of Cruden Bay.

Bill Rammell: A reply was sent to the hon. Member on 8 February 2008.

Ministers: Official Residences

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills whether any ministerial residencies are allocated to Ministers in his Department.

Bill Rammell: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office (Mr. Watson) on 19 February 2008,  Official Report, column 688W.

Science and Technology Facilities Council

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what subscription payments to which organisations the Science and Technology Facilities Council is expected to make in financial year 2008-09.

Ian Pearson: The STFC informed me that they expect to make the following subscription payments in financial year 2008-09:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 European Southern Observatory (ESO) 24.3 
			 European Incoherent Scatter Scientific Association (EISCAT) 0.3 
			 European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) 81.6 
			 Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT) 0.4 
			 European Science Foundation (ESF) 0.1 
			 European Space Agency (ESA) 72.4 
			 European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) 7.3 
			 Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) 14.9 
			 Gemini Observatory 3.6 
			 Total 205.2

Sign Language: North East Region

Bill Etherington: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what steps he has taken to increase the availability of basic and advanced sign language training in the North East region for adults, children and young people.

Bill Rammell: The Department is working closely with the Learning and Skills Council to ensure that there are opportunities available to meet the needs of learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. This is a priority identified in the Learning and Skills Council's Statement of Priorities for the funding period 2008/09 to 2010/11.
	Building on this the Learning and Skills Council North East region indicate that there are 250 courses in Sign Language at various levels being delivered in the region. The region has given a commitment within its regional strategy for learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities "Meeting Need: Raising Aspiration", to ensure that provision that equips learners, or people who support learners, to communicate or develop their specialised skills eg British Sign Language, is protected within the balance and mix of provision. In addition there are several projects being undertaken aimed at raising awareness of hearing impairment issues, to build capacity of staff in meeting the needs of learners with hearing impairments and to increase the support to learners.

Students: Disabled

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many equal and lower qualification students with disabilities were studying less than 50 per cent. of a full course in the latest period for which figures are available.

Bill Rammell: About 6,300 students recorded as having a disability were studying at less than 0.5 of a full-course for equivalent or lower level qualifications (ELQ) to ones they already hold in 2005/06—the latest year for which data are available. All existing ELQ students will continue to be supported but the progressive redistribution of funding away from ELQ students will enable us over time to support more of the 5 million people of working age with a disability but without a first higher education qualification than would otherwise be possible, especially the 900,000 or so with level 3 qualifications who have not progressed to level 4.

Students: Females

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many and what proportion of equal and lower qualification students were female in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Bill Rammell: About 70,000 women were studying for equivalent or lower level qualifications (ELQ) to ones they already hold in 2006/07—the latest year for which data are available. This represents a little under 60 per cent. of the total number of ELQ students, and that proportion is broadly the same as the overall male/female balance within higher education. The progressive redistribution of funding away from ELQ students will enable us to support more of the 10 million women without a first higher education qualification than would otherwise be possible, especially the two million women with level 3 qualifications who have not progressed to level 4.

Students: Finance

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of students for equivalent and lower qualifications as an additional degree who will no longer receive funding in  (a) 2008-09,  (b) 2009-10 and  (c) 2010-11.

Bill Rammell: All existing students doing equivalent and lower level qualifications will continue to receive funding during the years in question.

Students: Identity Cards

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what estimate he has made of the financial impact upon young people of requiring them to pay for identity cards prior to applying for a student loan; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: There are no plans to require students to have an ID card to apply for a student loan or any other form of student support, therefore no estimates of the cost have been made.
	The policy on the introduction of identity cards on a voluntary basis rests with the Home Office. Currently either a passport or a birth certificate (accompanied by an identity confirmation form signed by a person of good standing) is required as proof of identity for students applying for a Government student loan. We have no current plans to change this, although the process for verifying the identity of applicants is kept under review.

Students: Loans

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many people who graduated in  (a) 2001,  (b) 2002,  (c) 2003,  (d) 2004,  (e) 2005,  (f) 2006 and  (g) 2007 have repaid the whole of their student loan.

Bill Rammell: Available data are shown in the table.
	
		
			  English domiciled borrowers who have fully repaid their student loan (up to February 2008) by loan type( 1) 
			  Date repayments due to start( 2)  Mortgage-style loan  Income-contingent loan  All loans( 3) 
			 April 2002 25,800 3,900 29,700 
			 April 2003 2,800 6,000 8,800 
			 April 2004 600 6,300 6,900 
			 April 2005 100 6,200 6,300 
			 April 2006 (4)— 6,200 6,300 
			 April 2007 (4)— 5,200 5,200 
			 April 2008 (4)— 2,500 2,500 
			 (1) Figures are rounded to the nearest 100. Publicly-owned student loans. (2) Repayment begins from the April following the year of graduation, when income reaches the threshold. (3) Borrowers with both types of loan may be counted twice. (4) = nil or less than 50  Source: Student Loans Company 
		
	
	Borrowers who graduated in 2007 are not required to begin repaying their loans until April 2008; consequently the April 2008 figures in the table cover only those borrowers who have chosen to fully repay their loans before any repayments are due. The table reflects the change from mortgage-style to income-contingent loans. The figures relating to 2001 graduates, who started to repay their loans from April 2002, are significantly higher because the normal period for repaying mortgage-style loans is five to seven years.
	Borrowers with up to four mortgage-style loans repay over five years when their income exceeds the repayment threshold; those with five or more loans repay over seven years. The threshold for borrowers with mortgage-style loans is 85 per cent. of national average earnings, currently £25,287 from 1 September 2007. Borrowers are able to apply for deferment of repayments if their income is below this. Income-contingent loans replaced mortgage-style loans from 1998. Borrowers with income contingent loans repay at a rate of 9 per cent. of earnings above £15,000 a year. Repayments are usually collected through the tax system by employers, in the same way as income tax and national insurance contributions. Self-employed borrowers make repayments through the self assessment system.

Students: Loans

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many cases of multiple applications from individuals for student loans were recorded in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Bill Rammell: The responsibility for assessing student support applications in England rests with local authorities and therefore complete information is not centrally available about the number of multiple applications identified. From 2009-10 the SLC will assess all new applications for student support, and records will be held centrally.
	Where local authorities suspect fraud at the application stage, they will not process the application until they are completely satisfied with the documentary evidence. Where payments have been made, the local authorities may prosecute the students, or report the matter to the police for prosecution, and recover any overpayments.
	The Student Loans Company (SLC) run a range of checks using industry-standard software systems which pick up potential multiple applications. Payments are suspended by the SLC until students contact their local authority and the case is thoroughly checked. Since 2004, 388 cases such cases have been identified, though not all are fraudulent applications.

Students: Loans

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills if he will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse of raising the student loan repayment income threshold to  (a) £18,000,  (b) £20,000,  (c) £21,000,  (d) £22,000,  (e) £23,000,  (f) £24,000 and  (g) £25,000; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The estimated additional resource cost for each £1,000 increase in the current £15,000 repayment threshold is an initial £200 million (for existing loans) plus an ongoing cost of £80 million per year (for new loans). Increasing the threshold to £25,000 would therefore cost an estimated £2 billion plus £800 million per year.
	The income threshold is one of the main features of the income contingent loan scheme. This protects borrowers when they need it as they only pay their loan back once they earn over the threshold. Borrowers currently repay nothing until they earn over £15,000. This strikes the right balance, making payments affordable to the individual and student loans affordable to the public purse. We are committed to maintaining the repayment threshold at £15,000 until 2010 when we will review it.

Vocational Education: Peterborough

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what steps he is taking to increase the provision of technical and vocational training and education in Peterborough; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The Learning and Skills Council for Cambridgeshire have undertaken a review of their provision of technical and vocational training and education. As a result they have increased their apprenticeship contracted in-learning volume by 10 per cent. in 2007/08 and introduced apprenticeships for people aged 25 years plus. The LSC is already planning further increases in provision for 2008/09 based on the needs identified in their review. The Government have laid out their plans for improving the quality of technical and vocational education training for both young people and adults in apprenticeships in "World-class Apprenticeships: Unlocking Talent, Building Skills for All".
	To support this challenging agenda the Government are increasing apprenticeship funding by a quarter to £1 billion by 2010/11.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills when he expects to answer Question  (a) 181532 and  (b) 181601 on departmental travel, tabled on 21 January 2008 by the hon. Member for Taunton; and what the reason for the time taken to respond is.

Bill Rammell: The questions referred to were answered on 17 March 2008,  Official Report, columns 855-56W.
	The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills was created by machinery of government changes at the end of June 2007. A consequence of these changes is that DIUS relies on management information supplied by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) to answer questions relating to departmental matters, which impacts on the speed of response.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Buildings: Finance

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what  (a) capital,  (b) revenue funding and  (c) other support, including donation of land or buildings, (i) the Government and (ii) the European Union has provided for (A) the Scottish Exhibition Centre and Scottish Conference Centre in Glasgow, (B) the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, Edinburgh, (C) the Arena and Conference Centre, Liverpool, (D) the International Conference Centre and the Symphony Hall, Birmingham, (E) the Bournemouth International Conference Centre, Bournemouth, (F) the Brighton Centre, Brighton, (G) the Riviera Centre, Torquay, (H) the Excel Centre, the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, London, (I) the Manchester Central, Manchester and (J) the Harrogate International Centre, Harrogate; and if she will make a statement.

Parmjit Dhanda: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Councillors: Complaints

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which council had the highest number of complaints made to the Standards Board of England from its councillors about its councillors according to records held by the Standards Board in the latest period for which figures are available.

John Healey: In 2007-08, the council whose members had the largest number of misconduct allegations made against them by fellow councillors was Somerset county council, where there were 30 such allegations, 29 from a single councillor.

Eco-Towns: Pochin Group

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what meetings  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials in her Department have had with representatives of Pochin Group plc on eco-towns.

Caroline Flint: Neither the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government or officials have held meetings with representatives of Pochin Group plc on eco-towns.

Electoral Register: Fraud

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst of 5 March 2008,  Official Report, column 2886W, on electoral register: fraud, to which local authorities the legal advice has been circulated; and if she will place a copy in the Library of the advice.

John Healey: Legal advice was offered to all local authorities who are council tax billing authorities.
	I have placed a copy of the legal advice in the Library of the House.

Empty Property

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 6 March 2008 to the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps),  Official Report, column 2775W, on empty property, what the locations were of each of the properties for which public requests were received; and for what reasons each request was refused or accepted.

Parmjit Dhanda: The following table lists the land or properties involved in the 24 public request to order disposal cases referred to in the answer of 6 March 2008; whether a direction was issued; and the reason why a direction was or was not issued.
	
		
			  2006 
			  Site  Direction to order disposal  Reason 
			 Edge Lane, Liverpool Non direction The council had intention to bring the properties into active use as part of their comprehensive regeneration of the Edge Lane Corridor. 
			 Land at Upper Campfield Market, Manchester Non direction Land is being used in accordance with the council's functions. 
			 70, Birtles Road, Macclesfield Non direction Council had firm intention to deal with the property. 
			 53 Lutterworth Road, Leicester Non direction Leicester city council intend to develop the site as part of a bypass scheme in 2009-10. 
			 Land off Manners Avenue, Ilkeston, Derbyshire Non direction Land in question is being sufficiently used for the purpose of recreation, walking and cycling. 
			 Property in Chinnor, Oxfordshire Non direction Property is still required for police operational purposes. 
			 Housing in Maidenhead Invalid Owned by MOD—not covered by PROD since owned by a Government Department. 
			 Farnham, Surrey Non direction Council had a firm intention to bring it back into use. 
			 Palace House Stables and Yard Palace Street Newmarket Suffolk Non direction Council had a firm intention to bring the land into active use as a working yard for the retraining of retired racehorses. 
			 61 Caernarvon Road Norwich Norfolk Withdrawn Council put the land up for auction 
			 13 Lea Walk Harpenden Herts Invalid Land not owned by local authority 
			 151-159 Wells Road, London Invalid National Health Trust land, not covered by Part 10 of the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980. 
		
	
	
		
			  2007 
			  Site  Direction to order disposal  Reason 
			 Prescot Road, Liverpool Non direction Council proposes to deal with the land through a mixture of refurbishment and demolitions. Will review the situation late August 2008. 
			 Prescott Drive, Liverpool Under review  
			 Maple Grove, Fern Grove, Liverpool Maple Grove - SoS minded to make a direction, now within 42 days for representations. Maple Grove—local authority had no firm proposals to deal with these properties. 
			  Fern Grove—non direction. Fern Grove—no direction as local authority had firm intentions to develop the sites. 
			 9 Pinfold Street, Darlaston Wednesbury West Midlands Non direction Satisfied that the Council intend to develop the land for housing. 
			 177 Weston Street Walsall West Midlands Invalid Immediate local authority does not hold an interest in the property. 
			 9 Marlborough Road, Castle Bromwich, Birmingham B36 OEH Invalid Immediate local authority does not hold an interest in the property 
			 Empty property at Alfreton Park, Alfreton, Derby Non direction Derbyshire county council and Amber Valley borough council are reviewing use/access. 
			 Hythe and Lydd-on-Sea, Kent Invalid In private ownership and thus not covered by PROD. 
			 59 properties in Phoenix Street and Richard Cooper Street, Goole. Non direction East Riding of Yorkshire Council (EROYC) and its Partners due to commence year three of the 10 year programme. 
			 35 Mitcham Park, Merton Direction issued No firm plans to sell/develop/bring into use within a reasonable timescale 
			 240 Lordship Lane, London Unable to pursue Applicant did not disclose identity, despite correspondence from Government Office. 
			 12 Lord Holland Lane, London Unable to pursue Applicant did not disclose identity, despite correspondence from Government Office.

Fire Prevention: Construction Methods

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps she is taking to ensure that the fire safety standards of composite panels are maintained; and what guidance she has issued to fire authorities on the topic.

Parmjit Dhanda: holding answer 25 March 2008
	Fire safety risk assessment undertaken under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 should take account of the type of construction used in any building. The Department has issued technical fire safety risk assessment guidance which includes reference to composite panels (also known as insulated core panels). This guidance is available on the Department's website at:
	www.communities.gov.uk/firesafety

Fire Services: ICT

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many fire and rescue services had taken delivery of information technology infrastructure specifically earmarked for use as part of the FiReControl project by 31 December 2007.

Parmjit Dhanda: None. However, as part of the FiReControl project new mobilising equipment will be delivered to around 1,500 fire stations over the next 2.5 years. On receipt of a mobilisation message from a regional control centre, this new equipment will trigger station end components to effect a mobilisation. This includes sounding alarms, triggering retained alerters, switching on lights, opening doors and printing mobilisation messages.
	In March this year new mobilising equipment has started to be installed in fire stations in Staffordshire and North Yorkshire. Infrastructure to enable FRA's to prepare data to support the FiReControl system will also start to be fitted in FRA buildings in April.

Government Offices for the Regions: Finance

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which of her Department's programme budgets were administered by the Government Offices of the Regions in each of the last five years.

Parmjit Dhanda: holding answer 18 March 2008
	The Government offices have directly administered the European Regional Development Fund, the New Ventures Fund and the new deal for communities programme throughout the last five years.

Housing Low Incomes

David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many new homes were completed by registered social landlords in  (a) Telford and Wrekin and  (b) the West Midlands in each of the last 10 years.

Iain Wright: The following table shows the new build figures for registered social landlords in Telford and Wrekin district, West Midlands region and England from 1996-97 to 2005-06:
	
		
			   Telford and Wrekin  West Midlands  England 
			 1996-97 173 3,185 33,156 
			 1997-98 71 2,457 27,887 
			 1998-99 19 2,532 26,372 
			 1999-2000 103 2,782 22,302 
			 2000-01 84 2,212 20,760 
			 2001-02 49 1,945 21,676 
			 2002-03 118 2,453 20,897 
			 2003-04 128 1,980 23,703 
			 2004-05 81 2,759 26,670 
			 2005-06 72 3,762 34,199 
			  Source: Housing Corporation and Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix return from local authorities 
		
	
	The table excludes acquisitions of existing stock and new build affordable housing provided by local authorities. For example, in 2005-06, total supply including acquisitions and local authority figures was 44,923 in England, 4,487 in West Midlands region, and 88 in Telford and the Wrekin district.

Housing Low Incomes

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when her Department will publish the findings of Brian Pomeroy's review of the shared equity market; and if she will make a statement.

Iain Wright: holding answer 25 March 2008
	The Government appointed Brian Pomeroy to help it follow up on the Shared Equity Task Force report and advise us on ways to develop the private sector shared equity market. This work is expected to finish shortly and we will make a statement when it is complete.

Housing: Thames Gateway

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she expects to receive figures for the number of dwellings built on brownfield land in the Thames Gateway area in 2007.

Caroline Flint: The Government have a target that 80 per cent. of new housing in the Thames Gateway should be built on previously developed 'brownfield' land. The Thames Gateway Delivery Plan, published in November 2007, confirms that, since the inception of the Sustainable Communities Plan in 2003, that target has been exceeded and the Government are committed to keeping to the target over the next three years at least. Figures for the number of dwellings built on brownfield land in Thames Gateway for 2007 as a whole will not be available until later in 2008.

Intimidation

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what her most recent assessment is of  (a) levels of staff concern over and  (b) the level of (i) bullying, (ii) harassment and (iii) discrimination in her Department.

Parmjit Dhanda: We take this issue very seriously. Our most recent assessment is set out in the Government Response to the Select Committee's Report on the Department for Communities and Local Government's Annual Report 2007 (Cm 7335), a copy of which can be found on the Department's website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/responseannualreport2007
	The results of the Department's 2007 staff survey are also on the website.

Local Authorities: Standards

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance she issues to local authorities on best practice in  (a) the management of public money and  (b) the liabilities of elected councillors in respect of joint venture partnerships.

John Healey: Local authorities are independent bodies responsible for the proper administration of their financial affairs within the framework set by legislation and codes of practice issued by professional bodies, such as the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy. Communities and Local Government and its predecessor Departments have issued guidance to authorities under statutory powers on specific aspects of financial management, including their power of investment and the new powers of trading and charging introduced in the Local Government Act 2003. These are available on the Department's website at:
	http://www.local.odpm.gov.uk/finance/capital/data/lginvest2.pdf
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/localgovernment/pdf/133628
	http://www.local.odpm.gov.uk/guidprop.pdf
	Communities and Local Government has issued no guidance on the liabilities of elected councillors in respect of joint venture partnerships.

Mayor of London

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the Answers to the hon. Member for Beckenham of 9 October 2007,  Official Report, column 569W, and to the hon. Member for Meriden of 11 December 2006,  Official Report, column 898W, on the Mayor of London, what the final cost to the public purse of the Standards Board case in relation to Mr Ken Livingstone was, including the costs to  (a) the Standards Board,  (b) the Adjudication Panel,  (c) her Department and  (d) the Government Office for London, including legal fees, advice, staff time and costs payable to the Mayor.

John Healey: The Standards Board's own costs in respect of the case against the London Mayor amount to £64,000. The costs payable by the board to the Mayor in connection with the case are £130,000. The cost to the adjudication panel in respect of the case is £14,000. Neither the Department nor the Government office for London were parties to the case, so that no costs were incurred by them on legal representation in respect of it.

Mobile Homes

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the legal status of mobile homes is; what legislation governs the occupying of such homes; what definition she uses of a mobile home; whether she plans to bring forward measures to change this status; and if she will make a statement.

Iain Wright: holding answer 25 March 2008
	The status of a mobile home is that of a personal moveable property. Occupation of mobile homes is governed by the Mobile Homes Act 1983 (as amended) and the Caravan Sites Act 1968. Such homes have by virtue of section 5 (1) of that Act the same definition as a caravan under Part 1 of the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960. There are no plans to change the status of mobile homes.

Playing Fields: Planning

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  with reference to the answer of 17 July 2007,  Official Report, column 226W, on playing fields: planning, for what reason the consultation paper on the review of statutory consultees was not published in 2007; when it was  (a) commissioned and  (b) originally due for publication; and when it is expected to be published;
	(2)  with reference to the answer of 17 July 2007,  Official Report, column 226W, on playing fields: planning, how many members of staff in her Department are working on the consultation paper on the review of statutory consultees.
	(3)  what progress has been made in bringing forward the changes to the Town and Country Planning (General Development Procedure) Order 1995 announced in her Department's press release, "Planning to Safeguard Open Spaces and Playing Fields", of July 2002.  [Official Report, 24 April 2008, Vol. 474, c. 11MC.]

Iain Wright: We announced in the Planning white paper "Planning for Sustainable Communities" that we would review arrangements for statutory consultees on planning applications and would consult on proposals in due course. This work is being taken forward, our aim is to publish a consultation paper shortly. Meanwhile, as I mentioned in the reply I gave to the hon. Member on 17 July, we are committed to reducing the threshold for statutory consultation on the sale of playing fields from 0.4 ha to 0.2 ha and we will seek an opportunity to make the necessary amendment to the Town and Country Planning (General Development Procedure) Order 1995.

Press

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many press office staff were employed by  (a) her Department,  (b) its agencies and  (c) its non-departmental public bodies (i) in each year since 1996-97 and (ii) at the latest date for which information is available.

Parmjit Dhanda: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Taunton (Mr. Browne) on 18 February 2007,  Official Report, column 14W.
	Information on agencies and non-departmental bodies is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Sewage: Energy

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 10 March 2008,  Official Report, column 48W, on sewage: energy, if she will make it her policy to make urine separation systems mandatory in all new developments where discrete sewerage infrastructure is possible.

Iain Wright: The Government do not currently propose to make the use of urine separation systems mandatory in all new developments where discrete sewerage infrastructure is possible.
	Part H (drainage and waste disposal) of the Building Regulations currently requires an adequate system of drainage to be provided to carry foul water from appliances within the building to a suitable sewer, septic tank, waste water treatment system or cesspool.
	This means that where mains drainage cannot be provided and an applicant wishes to use an appliance such as a composting toilet there may be benefits in using urine separation as this can improve overall efficiency. However, there is a risk that urine separation and the subsequent discharge of a mixture of urine and water from washing appliances to the ground may cause pollution and damage water resources. People who plan to use urine separation and subsequently discharge direct to ground should undertake a robust site investigation and consult the appropriate authorities such as Building Control or the Environment Agency before finalising plans.
	Guidance of the provision of toilets is contained in the Approved Document G (Hygiene) of the Building Regulations. This guidance is under review and we expect to consult on the proposals shortly. It will include improved guidance on the location and use of composting toilets.

Social Services: Inspections

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the cost of Commission for Social Care inspection was in each of the last three years.

Ivan Lewis: I have been asked to reply.
	We have been informed by the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) that the information requested is not available in the form requested. CSCI is funded via a combination of registration fees charged to providers of care and grant in aid from the Department. It is not possible to specify the source of funds spent on inspection activities. The available information on CSCI funding is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  £ thousand 
			  Source of funding  Departmental revenue  Departmental capital charges  Other income  Total budget  Departmental capital 
			 2003-04 94,320 10,752 46,290 151,362 3,000 
			 2004-05 98,005 10,000 44,402 152,407 2,000 
			 2005-06 86,430 14,490 56,755 157,675 6,000 
			 2006-07 80,984 15,840 64,500 161,324 19,978 
			 2007-08 65,371 12,261 58,600 136,232 18,707 
			  Notes: 1. CSCI was being set up in 2003-04. Its predecessor organisation was National Care Standards Commission. 2. Figures for revenue and capital are grant-in-aid issued by the Department and are the start of year figures. Figures for income are derived from CSCI annual accounts. 3. 'Other income' represents income largely from regulatory fees. 4. Figures for CSCI up to 2006-07 include the cost of children's social services functions transferred to Ofsted on 1 April 2007.  Source: Department of Health.

CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

Bookstart Scheme

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what the cost of Bookstart has been since the programme began; and how many books have been purchased under the scheme to date;
	(2)  how many books purchased under the Bookstart programme have been  (a) delivered to and  (b) collected by parents; and how many are awaiting collection.

Beverley Hughes: Bookstart is a public/private partnership which is supported by publishers, sponsors, local and national government. Booktrust have informed me that, to date, the total cost of the Bookstart programme in England has been around £110 million: £74 million worth of books donated by publishers, sponsorship of £5 million and £30.7 million from local and national Government agencies including DCSF.
	Since 1992 around 14.7 million books have been given to parents of children under three in England via health visitors, libraries and early years settings and it is estimated that a further 500,000 books are held by local authorities to maintain a continuous supply to eligible parents in England.

Children

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what the cost of  (a) production and  (b) distribution of the Children's Plan Toolkit was;
	(2)  how many Children's Plan Toolkits were produced; and to whom they were distributed.

Beverley Hughes: The total cost of the packs was £30,534. This included the design, production and distribution of the packs. 1550 packs have been produced. The distribution was as follows (one each): 550 packs to English MPs, 150 packs to Directors of Children's Services, 500 packs to our stakeholders, 300 packs for the events held on 8 March with parents, young people and practitioners , 50 packs for internal use.

Children: Day Care

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families when the findings from the 20 authorities involved in the flexible extended free entitlement pathfinder projects will be published.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 25 March 2008
	Findings from an evaluation of the pathfinder authorities will be published in late 2008. Lessons learned from the pathfinder authorities will also form a key part of the new statutory guidance, which we will consult on in 2009. The guidance will come into force from September 2010 when all local authorities will be delivering the extended flexible entitlement to all their eligible children.

Children: Day Care

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of private, voluntary and independent nurseries surveyed in each of the 20 authorities involved in the flexible extended free entitlement pathfinder projects reported that the nursery education grant they receive does not meet the costs of running their nursery.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 25 March 2008
	This information is not held centrally.
	In June 2007 as part of the wider Schools Funding Reforms, we asked all local authorities to complete an analysis into the cost of delivering the free entitlement in private, voluntary and independent settings, in the run up to agreeing local budgets for April 2008 onwards. These reforms are designed to support the extension of the free entitlement and to address the inconsistencies in how the offer is currently funded across the maintained and private, voluntary and independent sectors. These reforms are part of the requirement for local authorities to use a single local formula for funding early years provision in both sectors from 2010.

Children: Day Care

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many childcare information kiosks were installed by his Department and its predecessor in each year since 2000.

Beverley Hughes: The Department has not installed any childcare information kiosks since 2000. However, some local authorities have installed kiosks in children's services locations, such as CIS and children's centres, and these have been paid for by the relevant authority (including using delegated funding such as the Sure Start grant).

Children: Depressive Illnesses

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the number of children diagnosed with depression in each of the last 10 years.

Ivan Lewis: I have been asked to reply.
	The Office for National Statistics 2004 survey Mental health of children and young people in Great Britain looked at the prevalence of mental health disorders. It found that 10 per cent. of young people aged five to 16 years had a clinically diagnosed mental disorder. This includes four per cent. with an emotional disorder (1 per cent. depression and 3 per cent. anxiety disorders). The results of the survey are only available in terms of percentages of children rather than numbers.
	There were no differences in prevalence between 1999 and 2004 in overall proportions of children with a mental disorder. The 1999 figures were captured in the 2000 "Mental health of children and adolescents in Great Britain".
	Information is not collected by this Department on the number of people diagnosed with a mental health disorder. Copies of both publications are available in the Library.

Children: Protection

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent discussions he had with the Home Office on strengthening the law to protect children who have been groomed.

Beverley Hughes: There have been no specific discussions recently on this matter. However, Home Office is a key member of the new Child Safety PSA Board, which will monitor delivery of the PSA to improve children and young people's safety, for which the Department has lead responsibility. The PSA Board will consider all issues relating to children's safety. DCSF has also attended meetings of the Inter-Ministerial Group on Sexual and Domestic Violence, the group led by Home Office which co-ordinates the Government's joint action to tackle these issues.
	In addition, the Byron review, which reports shortly, will make recommendations about how to support children to use the internet safely. This will help address a range of online risks to children, including the risk of grooming by online predators.

Children: Reading

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate his Department has made of the number of children in schools with dyslexia-type reading difficulties in  (a) England,  (b) the North East,  (c) Tees Valley district and  (d) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency.

Jim Knight: The available information has been placed in the Library.
	Information was collected from schools on pupils who are supported at "School Action Plus" and those pupils with statements of special educational needs (SEN) about their main or primary need and, if appropriate, their secondary need for the first time in 2004.
	Information on the number of pupils with dyslexia alone is not collected centrally. Figures relating to pupils with specific learning difficulties have been provided. Pupils with specific learning difficulties have a particular difficulty in learning to read, write, spell or manipulate numbers and this includes pupils with dyslexia, dyscalculia and dyspraxia.
	Tables showing the number of pupils by type of SEN in each local authority area have been placed in the Library. This information has not been analysed lower than local authority level because there are a number of sensitivities about categorising pupils by their type of SEN. It is important that anyone using the data should be aware of the concerns and also understand the limitations of the data's reliability and validity. There are a range of factors which may affect the data recorded, including:
	Local interpretation of definitions
	Classification of children with multiple needs
	Statistics are based on school and local authority identification of need rather than a diagnosis by medical of psychological staff
	Availability of special school provision in authorities.

Departmental Marketing

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much designing the Department's new logo cost; and who undertook the work.

Kevin Brennan: holding answer 25 March 2008
	 The Department's new logo cost £5,460 (excluding VAT) to design. This design work was undertaken by our framework supplier, The Team.

Employment: Havering

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps his Department is taking to maximise job and training opportunities during the Olympics for those attending schools, colleges and youth services in the London borough of Havering.

Bill Rammell: I have been asked to reply.
	Further to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Skills, to the hon. Member's question 168417 on 26 November 2007,  Official Report, column 271W, the legacy of our investment for the games goes beyond more houses and better transport. It must strengthen London's skills base and boost job prospects for London's residents in a lasting way. To help young people to gain skills and improve their employment prospects, the ODA has publicly committed to get at least 2,000 people into trainee apprenticeships and work placements (up to 2012) at the Olympic park and other venues that the ODA is working on or building. The first phase is the training centre at Eton Manor fields based at the Olympic site.
	In addition, the Major Contractors Group, which represents some of the UK's largest construction companies, has pledged:
	to make available 1,000 job placements to young people enrolled on FE construction courses;
	to work with the Construction Youth Trust to sponsor 50 undergraduates to obtain a construction-related degree;
	make available 1,000 training placements for local people over 21 who do not qualify for apprenticeships.
	London LSC is also signed up to a target of 4,000 public sector apprenticeships by 2012, and is working closely with the Mayor's office to increase the number of apprenticeships across the GLA family (police, fire service, TFL). The LSC is also funding a range of community engagement activities to inspire people about the games and raise their aspirations. This includes:
	Funding a series of theatre tours to visit 130 schools across London to raise awareness of 'Olympic opportunities' for young people;
	Building an Olympic/Paralympics element into the training of London teachers;
	Providing skills advice and materials for a series of road-show events throughout 2007-08 to visit communities across all 33 London boroughs.
	In total, London Learning and Skills Council is planning to spend a further £7 million in 2008/09, up from the previous years £5 million which will contribute to improving both the volume and quality of work based learning in the four key sectors: construction, sport; audio-visual and customer service. In addition, the LSC will provide a further £12.2 million for demand-led investment in training at the NSA centre on the Olympics site in the period between now and 2012.

English Language: Education

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what percentage of children receive English as an additional language teaching; and what forecasts there are for the likely percentage in future years.

Jim Knight: The percentage of pupils whose first language is other than English (EAL pupils) is published in table 6 of the Statistical First Release number 30/2007 titled Schools and Pupils in England, January 2007. The SFR can be accessed at:
	http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000744/index.shtml
	A copy of this SFR is available in the House Libraries.
	In January 2007, there were 13.5 per cent. of EAL pupils in maintained primary schools and 10.5 per cent. of EAL pupils in maintained secondary schools. Provisional figures based on the January 2008 School Census are expected to be published at the end of April 2008.
	All EAL pupils receive classroom teaching appropriate to their status. Information on the percentage of EAL pupils receiving additional specialist language instruction is not collected centrally.
	The Department has not made estimates for the percentage of EAL pupils in primary and secondary schools in forthcoming years.

General Certificate of Secondary Education

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils examination results were exempted from appearing in GCSE result tables in 2007.

Jim Knight: All pupils have their GCSE results reported in the national attainment figures although pupils who have arrived from overseas within the last two years do not have their results attributed to a particular school. In 2007, this affected 1,973 such pupils from 523 schools.

General Certificate of Secondary Education

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families in how many schools did less than 30 per cent. of pupils obtain five A* to C GCSE grades including English, mathematics and science.

Jim Knight: This information can be provided only at a disproportionate cost.

General Certificate of Secondary Education

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many pupils achieved no grade higher than X at GCSE in 2007;
	(2)  how many pupils were awarded no grade higher than U at GCSE in 2007.

Jim Knight: 7,200 pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 achieved no passes. This is 3 per cent. of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4. The figures include pupils achieving 'U', 'Q', or 'X' grades.
	A 'U' is the last recognised grade at GCSE. 'X' and 'Q' are used to indicate why a grade has not been awarded. An 'X' means a pupil is absent or the exam paper has been lost. A 'Q' means result pending or late award. It is therefore not appropriate to rank these against other grades.

Independent Schools: General Certificate of Secondary Education

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many mainstream independent schools do not enter pupils for GCSEs.

Jim Knight: The information required is not readily available. The Secondary Schools Achievement and Attainment Tables give the percentage of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 achieving at least one qualification. Looking at the number of mainstream independent schools with 0 per cent. of students achieving at least one qualification will provide the best estimate that is readily available. In 2006/07 there were three such schools published in the Achievement and Attainment Tables.

International General Certificate of Secondary Education

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils sat iGCSEs in each year for which figures are available.

Jim Knight: The DCSF does not hold the information required to answer this question.

Pupil Referral Units: General Certificate of Secondary Education

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils in pupil referral units taking GCSEs did not obtain a single GCSE at C grade or above in 2007.

Jim Knight: There were 5,543 15-year-old pupils in pupil referral units who did not gain a GCSE at grades A* to C in 2007. This is 88.3 per cent. of the total of 6,280 15-year-old pupils.
	These figures include GCSEs and other equivalent qualifications approved for use pre-16.

Pupils: English Language

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of the effect on the school league table position of schools of a high proportion of pupils with English as second language; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The annual school Achievement and Attainment tables show actual performance of pupils, including a measure of the progress pupils have made based on their prior attainment and adjusting for other characteristics which are known to affect pupil performance. One of the factors used in this calculation of contextual value added is whether a pupil has English as an additional language. Thus this factor is already taken into account within the tables, for all pupils for whom there is a record of attainment at the previous key stage.

Pupils: Personal Records

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the relationship will be between the Unique Learner Number and the Unique Pupil Number.

Bill Rammell: I have been asked to reply.
	There is no direct interface between the Unique Learner Number and Unique Pupil Number, other than the fact that both numbers are held on the National Pupil Database.
	The Unique Learner Number is designed to support better processing of data and improve services to individuals undertaking learning. The ULN will in time be used across the education sector, and will support much improved data sharing between third parties, for example school to college, school to awarding body, school to careers service, school/college to university. It will directly enable the aggregation of qualification awards and the creation of a learner record showing participation and achievement, which the individual will control.
	The Unique Learner Number is assigned to learners over the age of 14, using an on-line learner registration service, which is accessible to learners and those who are supporting them, for example, education providers and careers advisers. This service also confirms how individuals want their information shared.
	The Unique Pupil Number was designed specifically for the school sector to facilitate a smoother movement of pupil information between schools, local authorities and the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), and lapses when a pupil leaves the maintained school sector. When designed it was agreed with the Data Protection Registrar that the Unique Pupil Number should be held by schools on the pupil's electronic record, and only used when required to provide information to the local authority, to the DCSF or National Assessment Agency (NAA), or to another school to which the pupil is transferring.

Schools

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Reading, East of 8 October 2007,  Official Report, column 406W, on schools, how many maintained schools there were in each local education authority at the end of each year since 1997; what the capacity in terms of pupil numbers was in each case; and what the actual number of pupils was in each year.

Jim Knight: The available information on the number of schools and pupils in each local authority is derived from data collected via the School Census and is published annually by the Department. From 2005 the figures can be found in the Statistical First Release 'DCSF; Schools and Pupils in England', the latest of which can be accessed at: http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000744/index.shtml. Figures for 2004 and earlier were published in the Statistical Volume 'Statistics of Education, Schools in England' which can be accessed at:
	http://www.dfes.gov.uk/gateway/DB/VOL/v000459/index.shtml
	Equivalent publications are available for earlier years.
	Copies of school and pupil numbers are shown in tables which will be placed in the House Library. I will write to the hon. Member, and place in the House Library, information on school capacity.

Schools: Community Relations

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many schools have applied for departmental funding to allow them to open their facilities to community groups.

Jim Knight: Opening school facilities to the community is one of the elements of the extended schools core offer. We are committed to all schools providing access to the core offer of extended services by 2010 with at least half of all primary and a third of secondary schools doing so by September 2008.
	The Department has committed significant investment in extended schools, and will make available more than £1 billion over the next three years to support the establishment of inclusive and sustainable extended schools. This funding is passed to local authorities to distribute directly to schools to help them deliver the core offer. The Department centrally does not hold extended schools funding to which schools can apply.

Schools: Playing Fields

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many school playing fields were sold in England in each of the last five years.

Jim Knight: In each of the last five years the numbers of applications approved to sell a school playing field in England are as follows:
	
		
			   Number approved 
			 2003-04 18 
			 2004-05 10 
			 2005-06 13 
			 2006-07 7 
			 2007-08 15 
			 Total 63

Secondary Education: Admissions

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many children living in the Furtherwick school catchment area of Canvey Island have not secured a place at their first option for a secondary school in 2008;
	(2)  how many children did not secure a place at their first option for a secondary school on Canvey Island in each of the last five years;
	(3)  how many children living in the Furtherwick secondary school catchment area of Canvey Island have not secured their second choice of school for September 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: This is the first year that local authorities have been required to provide data to the Secretary of State on secondary school offers made to parents on national offer day. These data were published on the DCSF research gateway (www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway) on 11 March 2008 at local authority, regional and national levels. Data have not been collected at constituency or school levels. Figures for Essex local authority, in which Canvey Island is situated, show that 80.8 per cent. (12,986) of children resident in that authority who are eligible to transfer to secondary school in September 2008 were offered a place at their parents' first choice of school and a further 10 per cent. (1,601) were offered a place at their parents' second choice of school.

Specialised Diplomas

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of  (a) academies,  (b) comprehensive schools and  (c) independent schools he expects to be offering the new diplomas in September (i) 2008, (ii) 2009 and (iii) 2010.

Jim Knight: From September 2008, 25 per cent. of maintained mainstream secondary schools will be offering diplomas, along with 41 per cent. of colleges, and 54 per cent. of academies. From September 2009, we anticipate that 72 per cent. of mainstreamed maintained secondary schools will be offering diplomas, along with 88 per cent. of colleges, and 75 per cent. of academies. We do not expect any independent schools to be delivering diplomas from 2008, and expect two independent schools to be delivering diplomas from 2009. Complete figures for 2010 will not be available until the completion of the next Diploma Gateway process next spring.